EASTHAMPTON — At 4 p.m. on Thursday, a few people dropped to one knee in Pulaski Park, the grassy area in the middle of the rotary on Main Street. They were soon joined by others, as nearly the entirety of the assembled crowd, close to 100 people at the start, dropped to the ground in a solemn, silent action.
Led by Police Chief Robert Alberti and Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, who kneeled at the public safety complex outside 32 Payson Ave., people across the city of Easthampton took a knee for 8½ minutes to protest racism and the killing of George Floyd.
“I feel like the voice that I have as mayor, the voice he has as police chief, is not the voice that we need to be listening to,” said LaChapelle, following the action. “It’s our job to listen.”
Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis, May 25, as a result of a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder, and the three other officers on the scene have been charged with lesser offenses.
Floyd’s death has sparked protests nationwide, some of which have seen outbreaks of violence from both police and civilians.
At around 4 p.m., the bell at the Easthampton Congregational Church was rung for 8 ½ minutes, in recognition of Floyd. At 5 p.m., a second protest against racism and in honor of Floyd also took place at the rotary.
At the kneeling action at the rotary, many cars honked their support, and waves and the peace sign were also given. One man did, however, shout “all lives matter” repeatedly in an aggressive manner at the protesters as he drove past.
Joanne Benkley, of Easthampton, said she chose to kneel, “Because it’s time for … white people to stand up for what’s right and what needs to happen.”
Not everyone backed the 4 p.m. kneeling action, with some protesters at the rotary opting to hold signs and stand instead.
“The display of kneeling … is violent in this moment,” said D.L. Grant, holding a sign calling for the defunding of police. “We can do so much more than kneeling.”
Grant also noted that the police knelt on Floyd’s neck.
Alberti estimated that at least 100 people showed up to 32 Payson Ave. for the kneeling action. He said it is important that the community knows the department doesn’t condone what happened to Floyd.
“It was a murder,” said Alberti. “We did not take an oath and sign up to do that to people.”
At the conclusion of the kneeling action on the town common, Jason Montgomery, of Easthampton, who had stood during the protest, called on those assembled to do more.
“Without actually taking a moment to do something, what you did is meaningless,” he said. “So leave this place and do something.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the church that rang its bell during the kneeling action. It was Easthampton Congregational Church.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.