"Walk with Us"

Walk with Us ….

Kayla is a Medfield High Class of 2019 graduate, a 19 year old lifelong Medfield resident and a freshman at Bay Path University who returned home on March 20th due to the Coronavirus.

Kayla is also black.

Last Sunday afternoon, Kayla attended the Solidarity Gathering with her cousins and some of her friends. Kayla’s cousins Mirhanda and Izabelle and her close friend, Katrina have lived in Medfield all their lives and they led the spontaneous “Walk with Us” march.

This was Kayla’s first march/protest and she explained that she has not gone to any others out of fear of police brutality. “Knowing that Medfield is such a small town and the officers were not carrying tear gas or rubber bullets, I knew I had to come and fight for equality.”

The gathering was organized by Medfield resident, Sarah Jenks, who worked with town officials to make it happen. The event was made known through social media and by word of mouth. It was promoted as “Solidarity and Silence to Support Black Lives” and supporters were urged to assemble and line the sidewalks from the Medfield Town Hall to the Police Station and encouraged to hold signs. It was not planned as a march or to have speakers, but after the event, Jenks spoke positively saying she was excited to see Medfield’s young people take the lead and make this their own.

Kayla’s friends gathered on North Street and she arrived about a half hour later than the rest.

Kayla was nervous when she arrived because she felt that all eyes would be on her and her friends. She explained that awful feeling, “ Yes, of course it’s uncomfortable… it is like being in a zoo or needing to put on a show for entertainment.” That is a feeling that no one should have to feel, and yet Kayla has lived with this happening all her life. She is well aware that she and her family are in the minority in Medfield as less than 5% of the population in Medfield is black. When she arrived at the gathering she said, “It was quiet" but she wasn’t surprised by that. “People were not chanting, they were just standing around with signs.”

Kayla and the other girls felt strongly that they needed to do more.. They saw a large number of supporters so they wanted to take this opportunity to spread awareness. They decided to start walking and planned to just walk up and down North Street so everyone could hear them. “Our goal was to unify the crowd.”

As they walked, Kayla felt that they shouldn’t be the only ones walking, so she yelled out “Walk with Us!”

And that’s what many of the supporters did.

As the group behind Kayla got bigger and bigger, people fanned out and walked the entire width of North Street. Not everyone there jumped in to follow and some wondered where were they going and where would they stop?

As the group was marching, the time was getting close to 4pm.

Kayla figured they would walk to the Police Station and peacefully protest there, but when she looked behind her and saw a sizable crowd she decided they couldn’t stop there because people would spill onto the street so they walked a bit further and stood on the top steps of the Dale Street School. Once on the steps, Katrina spoke first saying, “We are fighting for equality and it can’t stop here!” and then asked everyone to kneel and stay silent for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to recognize the tragic death of George Floyd.

The people who had followed also knelt and stayed silent.

Kayla spoke next explaining she wasn’t one of the organizers but thanked everyone for walking with them and Katrina’s cousin Maria spoke last. Then the crowd headed home.

Medfield Police Chief Michelle Guerette stated that she fully expected a peaceful event but wasn’t anticipating speakers so when a large group began to march it peaked her interest and she wanted to hear what was being said. “It is a rare opportunity to listen to the community in this way. Sometimes people feel more comfortable expressing themselves when not standing in front of the police one on one. Unfortunately, I was unable to hear the bulk of the message but could tell by the response of the crowd that is was very moving.”

A few days after the march, when asked, Kayla said she was very pleased with how people listened, followed and showed support for fighting racial injustice together. “Seeing the crowd unified made me cry from happiness.”

When asked about her experience growing up in Medfield, Kayla said that it is common to have all eyes on her when she’s the only black person in a group. She recalls as a Medfield HS Freshman and part of the Cheerleading Team, she was the only girl out of 25+ on the team that wasn’t white. She remembers being stared at when the topic of slavery or race was discussed in school. She recalls being taught about the Civil Rights Movement. In February, pictures of MLK, Jr., Michael Jordan and Beyonce would be shown on the walls at school. “They call that celebrating Black History Month, that is not enough. My only hope I have for people in Medfield is that they should celebrate black lives more instead of just the culture.”

She recognizes that this community supports the LGBT population, and she supports them as well but she feels that Medfield, as a non diverse community, needs to do more. The problem is not just in Medfield, it goes beyond.

When asked what her suggestions would be to improve racial injustice, she said, “Medfield needs to hire more black and African American teachers and they need to stop refusing to give consequences to students and people who show subtle racism.”

“Growing up, I’ve always been stared at and sometimes they were positive looks because of the way I dressed or the style of my hair. I’m just used to it. Now I wonder if people are looking at me because I look good or if it’s because I’m black.”

Kayla is speaking out to make change, seeking fairness and social justice. She is a strong young woman and she will not run and hide. She cannot live in fear. When asked why, she stated, “Because I have a future to build.”

View Solidarity Medfield March Video