A walk has been planned for Sunday, June 7 in Sechelt to show solidarity with people of colour and those protesting against racial inequality in the U.S. and Canada.
“Let’s show where we stand. Let’s walk in peace for inclusion, love and for the people that are not seen as equal,” wrote organizer Julia Budd in a social media post.
Budd told Coast Reporter she organized the march because of racial discrimination her family has experienced in Canada and when travelling in the southern U.S. where she fights as a professional mixed martial artist.
“I’m married to a black man and he’s got a black son,” she said. “When we go down to the U.S. there’s certain rules we have to live by. If we want to go for a walk we have to watch where we go.”
Because of COVID-19, Budd has been spending more time on the Sunshine Coast, where she was raised, and said her family has also been exposed to racism. “It got me thinking about growing up on the Sunshine Coast and the things I witnessed and heard.”
The hope, she said, is for the walk to show the Sunshine Coast community stands for inclusion and equality.
“If we’re the community … that took a huge stand against racism and walked together as one, that’s what I want our community to be known as.”
The walk will start at 1 p.m. at the corner of Ocean and Dolphin at Hackett Park and will head south to the waterfront, up to Cowrie and finish at Hackett Park at Trail Avenue and Dolphin.
Budd contacted the RCMP and Staff Sgt. Poppy Hallam will be walking “in full support,” along with other RCMP staff. “It shows our community is standing together,” said Budd.
Shíshálh Nation council, Sechelt council and other politicians and officials have been invited to attend.
Those who attend are asked to practise physical distancing and wear face masks.
“I know this is a huge problem, but this is how change begins,” said Budd.
