Black Lives Matter Day Of Action Held In Concord Saturday

CONCORD, NH — Activists from around New Hampshire are heading back to the Statehouse in Concord for a Black Lives Matter: Day of Action in an effort to promote Black-owned businesses and get Granite State residents to acknowledge the state's "dark history and a present that continues to profit off of the systemic oppression and the exploitation of Black individuals."

The event, which will be held at noon, is one of a number of future events planned, according to one of the organizers, Samantha Searles. The event follows on the heels of a march against racism held in Concord that attracted thousands, and other events in Merrimack, Nashua, and Portsmouth. The cosponsors of the event include Change For Concord, Black Lives Matter Manchester, Black Lives Matter Nashua, leaders from the Seacoast, and others.

Searles said the groups were working together to put together more speeches and actions promoting racial equality, voting, and in the case Saturday, the promotion of Black-owned businesses. The group has been reaching out to business leaders for about three weeks and created a crowdsourced document to exhort Granite Staters to frequent those businesses.

Another reason for future rallies, according to Searles and other organizers, is to point out New Hampshire's difficulty when it comes to race relations and equality. These issues go beyond Franklin Pierce, the 14th president and the state's only politician to serve in that role, who thought slavery was legal based on his reading of the U.S. Constitution. Searles said slaves cut stone and built many of the walls around New Hampshire. The state's lumber industry could not have survived without slaves, she said. And there were also Ku Klux Klan meetings in both New Hampshire and Maine. Many of the state's wealthiest citizens can trace back their wealth to the slave trade, Searles added.

"We think that New Hampshire was immune or the North was immune but no one really was," Searles said. "It was more than what we tend to think — cotton, people, sugar, and the islands."

Searles also points to the length of time it took to make Martin Luther King Day in New Hampshire, the only place to also calls it Civil Rights Day, as well as Juneteenth just becoming law here, too. Some in the state embrace "a continuation of rebel spirit, rebel pride," she said, adding that she had seen more Confederate flags here than in Georgia, where she was born and has family.

When asked to expand on the concept of New Hampshire residents continuing to profit off of the systemic oppression and the exploitation of Black individuals, Searles said it was what seemed like the dismissal of everything — "of conversations they don't want to have, the dismissal of … candidates of color, (candidates for) positions," but not wanting to speak directly about the Ryan Terrell or Eddie Edwards controversies, two of Gov. Chris Sununu's recent nominees for positions with the state, because she had not done enough research. Searles said conversations, when they are conducted, are misleading, even in the case of the George Floyd killing.

"Yes, this is partially because of George Floyd," she said, "but we're protesting against the system. It's not because of one person. The fact that it took that is really telling about where we are. But there's so much more and, whether you like it or not, and I haven't done all the research, but we know there are enough Black people here to have more Black businesses. Why aren't there?"

Education and black history are also issues the groups want to tackle to ensure that they don't get "pushed to the back burner" since it is important "that everyone knows it" even if New Hampshire children only have one Black child in a classroom, she said.

"There could be none and you should still know it," Searles said. "You live in America; it's American history."

Searles called all the problems in New Hampshire when it comes to racial equality and other issues was "a sandwich that is too large to take one bite out of … you can't possibly get everything. Part of this day of action is to just raise awareness which is why we're going to have different speakers talking about different aspects." She said compiling a list of all the issues would be difficult because new ones pop up based on past laws and policies. Searles added, "American was not set up to work for anyone who wasn't white, straight, male, and Christian ... and wealthy."

The end game though was to get to the system change, Searles said, and "carving your own" seat at the table "and showing up"; creating listening spaces that are welcoming and having conversations and collaboration that lead to change whether it is in the business world, police departments, or governments, and "not be dismissed."

"This is a constituency that needs to be heard," Searles added.

Organizers said social distancing will be observed and masks available to not allow the spread of the new coronavirus during the event. Bottled water will be available as well as snacks in a medical tent. No violence "of any kind" will be tolerated and "peacekeepers will be standing by" to ensure the event will have no problems.

Interested community members can RSVP to through Facebook here.

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