This past summer, Senior Cassidy Snyder organized a Black Lives Matter rally to give our generation a peaceful platform to speak out. The protest was held at the North Kingstown Town Beach on June first, 2020. With over a hundred attendees and nine speakers, the protest was a complete success.

Worried that the Boston rally was going to turn violent, Snyder turned to social media in order to bring awareness to her protest at the Town Beach. “We wanted to be as safe as possible with the legality of everything, and because we didn’t technically have a permit to use the space at the Town Beach we were worried that something would happen. I reached out to the Police Chief to let him know what we were doing and he never called me back.” Snyder said. 

Senior Alyana Barbosa was a key speaker at the Town Beach rally. “Cassidy’s rally was so important because in a predominantly white area, it showed that the BLM movement is supported. I personally have always gone to predominantly white schools and felt in a way like an outcast. So to see so many people in my community come together to support a cause that I hold so close to my heart, I guess it  makes me feel like people understand and that I’m not alone.” said Barbosa. 

With all the new outrage flamed by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the BLM movement has been greatly impacted by social media making it easy for people to learn about it. “I think a lot of racist white people misunderstand the meaning of Black Lives Matter. It isn’t, and has never been, only Black Lives Matter. People of color are disproportionately impacted through the literal foundation of this country.” said Snyder.