“It was a powerful moment to me and to everyone who joined me.”
Richmond-born Declan Rodriguez was not expecting more than a hundred people to join him on a four-kilometre walk on Saturday morning in memory of George Floyd, the man whose death two weeks ago has sparked widespread protests across the U.S.
But more than 200 Richmond residents flooded the streets and joined the walk like a game of snake as they passed each house from the Hugh Boyd soccer fields to Floyd Avenue.
The event, called Boyd2Floyd, was a walk for the Richmond community to do more than raise awareness about xenophobia; rather, it was for a call to action, to speak up and to do something about it, according to Rodriguez.
“Because I feel Richmond is such a conservative city where people stay to themselves a lot, I wanted an opportunity for residents who want the space to say something regarding the George Floyd incident.”
He added most events and protests happen downtown but he wanted something closer to home.
“When we reached Floyd Avenue, we took a knee and a moment of silence,” said Rodriguez.
“That moment was powerful.”
Rodriguez told the Richmond News that initially, 73 people were interested in the event, however, as the walk went on, more and more people joined with about 250 people during the moment of silence.
“Our group got bigger as we started walking and people would come out of their house and joined in on the walk,” he said, adding they received a lot of car honks on the way.
“Also, we made a big effort to make sure people were physical distancing where people were reminded about the six feet rule and masks were encouraged.”
Law enforcement, said Rodriguez, was also helpful when they learned of the event. The intersections of Williams Road and Railway Avenue, as well as Williams and No. 1 roads were shut down briefly by Richmond RCMP so participants could safely walk on the road.
“(The officers) were quite understanding and what they did kind of drove the point home a little more. It felt like we were fighting for the same thing and it was pretty cool.”
Rodriguez, who recently moved back to Richmond last summer from the U.S., said events happening here in Canada regarding xenophobia are not the same as ones south of the border.
“I experienced a lot of these (events) down there first-hand, things that we don’t get exposure to up here, not to the extent of it anyways,” he added.
“I’m really proud how Richmond turned out, how the event turned out and how people approached the situation and the event.”
