Local Activist Compare Their Experiences To DC Protests
Jan 7, 2021, 10:58 PM | Updated: 11:00 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday’s protesters at the U.S. Capitol would have been treated very differently if they had been from Black Lives Matter. He called the response an obvious double standard.
Two local civil rights activists who took part in the Salt Lake City Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer agree.
“In order for me to use my right to protest and voice my opinion and stick up for things I believe in, I also know I have to be extra careful,” said Rae Ducksworth.
Do you think police would've treated people differently if they weren't white yesterday? @JoeBiden does and so do local advocates I talked to this afternoon. Hear in their own words how they think we can move forward together — @KSL5TV at 6. pic.twitter.com/t1zgEzIVsk
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) January 7, 2021
She and Semira, Salt Lake Equal Rights Movement vice president, marched against police brutality.
“I would say that me being Black is the biggest reason as to why I am being treated differently by police,” Semira told KSL.
There were protests across the country after George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.
Many protests were violent as demonstrators fought with police, buildings were vandalized and in Salt Lake City, a police car was set on fire.
While Ducksworth and Semira watched in horror as the U. S. Capitol was breached, there was no surprise.
“If any of these (Washington) protesters looked like me or Semira or George, any of one of these people on these walls — totally different way out,” Ducksworth said in front of a mural depicting people killed by police. “We would never have the right.”
(KSL-TV)
Semira interjected, “I wouldn’t even walk through a broken window.”
“These people got the right to have a whole photoshoot in Nancy Pelosi’s office after going through and destroying her laptop,” Ducksworth added.
They hope this can be used as an example to have a conversation about race and privilege, as many did last summer.
“Thinking about the numbers of people that showed up. I am proud of Utah. I am proud of Salt Lake. I really am. The fact that it happened and how greatly it did. I feel better about being from here,” Ducksworth said.
The main goal is to put an end to racism — together.
“I am not going to unify with a Nazi. I am going to unify with my people. If you are down with the truth and the movement, you can unify with us. That’s the truth and the unity that I want,” Ducksworth said.
