In response to a planned protest by Latinos Unidos and Black Lives Matter, the city of Rochester, N.Y., sent hundreds of employees home early and suspended bus services on Thursday afternoon.
A small group of Latinos wanted to show solidarity with and build unity between their group and Black Lives Matter. The group was surprised by the reaction of the city officials.
Rosemary Rivera, a member of Latinos Unidos, called the reaction “dog whistle politics.” She believes that the city’s reaction was based on fear and sends the wrong message to people of color. Rivera said to reporters:
“If the next time that they decide to say ‘hey, look at me, I matter, I’m a black person and this society is not working for me, the system is broken, it’s not working for me’ and then what you do is shut it down, what kind of message that sends is something I think people really need to think about.”
The Rochester Police Department issued a statement saying they reacted in this manner because they were unsure how large the protest would be. They wanted to protect the First Amendment rights of the protesters.
According to organizers, the police never contacted the group to determine why they were organizing the protest, or to estimate a turnout. The group did not advertise the event on social media and only posted a few flyers throughout the city.
Rosemary Rivera said the event was intended to be a few Latinos gathering for a photo to show support for Black Lives Matter:
“We wanted to take a good picture, and look like fierce advocates and movement builders like we are. That’s all.”
In July, the Rochester Police Department arrested over 70 protesters and 2 reporters during a Black Lives Matter demonstration downtown.
It is unclear how much money this type of fear-based reaction to a small, peaceful protest will cost the city of Rochester.
