Hundreds Gather For Protest To Show Strength In Unity

BOLINGBROOK, IL — On Tuesday, hundreds of residents met at the Bolingbrook High School to voice their opinion regarding the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died when a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck May 25 while trying to arrest him.

According to Trustee Michael Carpanzano, based on his understanding, the protest had no official organizer and no one had reached out to public safety officials to plan a route or ask for police protection.

"The event mostly was started by online posts and flyers with no dedicated organizer. It started at Bolingbrook High School and while originally the flyer mentioned walking to Tony's on Route 53, the village decided to allow the peaceful protest group to walk to the Performing Arts Center Stage behind the Village Hall.," he said. "This gave them shade, a place to sit and relax in the sun, and a place to have speeches, etc. It wasn't planned that way, but it worked out to be a great venue for this peaceful protest."

Around 300 people started from the high school at 1 p.m. and ended at the Village Hall at 4 p.m. An open forum was set up for attendees to read a poem, make a statement or even to explain their reason for protesting.

"I witnessed people on the mic offer up encouragement to keep things calm, kind, and peaceful," Carpanzano said. "I also heard several times people take the mic and encourage us to clean up after themselves as 'this is our community.' I witnessed many signs which honored George Floyd, and Black Lives Matter."

Lt. Anthony Columbus of the Bolingbrook Police Department said additional patrol and officers were added to ensure safety of the people.

"The Bolingbrook PD supports all peaceful demonstrations," he said.

Carpanzano said given the fluid nature and no official protest plan, "I am incredibly proud of the police department."

"Their presence in the crowd at Village Hall and along the walk route was calm, professional, and welcomed by so many. I witnessed on several occasions attendees doing fist-bumps with the officers, taking pictures with the police officers," he said. "Very heartwarming to see community members interacting with police officers and listening peacefully and respectfully to any instructions that were given. Our police department works with our community daily."

Due to the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounded the spread of the coronavirus, Carpanzano said he was concerned during the protest since "not everyone socially distanced."

However, he wore a mask and observed the majority of the crowd had face coverings on.

"It was outdoors in open air and from my perspective it appeared people tried to sit spread out from each other," he said.

Bolingbrook is hailed as one of the most diverse communities in the state and this peaceful protest was a testament to that. The residents showed strength in unity, racial background notwithstanding.

"Several speeches [at the protest] spoke of love, unity, and togetherness. Several speeches mentioned their experience as a youth in Bolingbrook having been exposed to people of all races, all colors," Carpanzano said. "Peaceful protesters who took the mic spoke of how the diversity in their school led them to have a better understanding of each other's unique struggle, culture, and traditions. Personally, my heart was warmed to see a very youthful audience share their feelings, their struggles, and have a platform to do so with respect, kindness, and peace."