Black Lives Matter Vigil
8/12/20Black Lives Matter Vigil
Edited by Simon Huynh
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On August 8th, at 3:00 p.m, a group of over two hundred demonstrators gathered on the Littleton Town Common to show their continued support for the Black Lives Matter Movement. The event was organized by the Littleton Interact Club: former co-presidents Kriti Sharma and Thomas Hollinger and current co-presidents Courtney Bottenhorn and Paige Hornbeck.
In a statement about the event Kriti Sharma said, “For our last project, Thomas and I wanted to use our platform and the Littleton Interact Club to do good for our community while taking note of what was happening in our world. The racial and health pandemics going on in our country right now motivated us to think outside the box and create a community service opportunity that would help our town progress in terms of racial justice. Last Saturday, we were overwhelmed by how well received our efforts and speakers were! By giving residents the opportunity to speak, they brought to light so many important topics that our town officials often overlook. We are so grateful that so many attended and cannot wait to see what change comes to Littleton in the future.”
One of the organizers, Kriti Sharma, at the event.
Local band, Nomad Stories, playing at the event.
Demonstrators held signs for passing cars to see and many drivers honked and waved in support. After two hours of demonstrating, the vigil began with live music played by [local band] Nomad Stories, followed by a speech by saxophonist Kelly Shephard. Other speakers included LHS graduates Kriti Sharma, Riana Bucceri, Gihanah Sebdidio, Sara Conners and Abbi Hartzel, as well as Reverend Lara Hoke from the First Church Unitarian, Director of Curriculum Elizabeth Steele, and members of Teens for Change from Ayer/Shirley: Justin Cullinan and Denim Murphy.
The vigil had three demands:
Affordable Housing: Making affordable housing a priority for future projects on the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board agendas.
Race Education: Integrate modern social injustice teachings into History and English curriculum. Reevaluate current textbooks on racial bias.
Police Transparency: To ensure open communication, mandate routine opportunities where residents can suggest ideas and address concerns to the police department.
Demonstrator (and LHS Senior) Calli Morvay holding a sign for passing cars.
Most of the speakers addressed one of the three topics from their perspectives and how they relate to Littleton. The organizers also created a petition for each of the three demands. The petitions received over 200 signatures and will be sent to local committees to be reviewed. The organizers hope that the local boards will see the community support for these initiatives and will work to implement them in Littleton.
To see videos of the event and some of the speeches, check out the Littleton Interact Club’s Instagram account (@littletoninteractclub).
Simon Huynh and Jeremiah Farrell, Littleton High School seniors hold signs for the passing cars.
Demonstrators from other towns also came to show their support, including Leo Premru from Groton.
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