Protesters’ emotional and powerful demonstration Wednesday, which began in Worthington Park and ended in Maple Bluff, underscored what they saw as systematic failures of the justice system against the backdrop of Tony Robinson’s death last week.
Protesters peacefully marched for approximately two miles, halting at the Department of Corrections. They later blocked traffic as they proceeded down and across East Washington Avenue on their way to the Governor’s Mansion, chanting Robinson’s name intermittently with a background of drums.
But the protest, in addition to honoring Robinson, drove a conversation about racial disparities apparent in all walks of life, from police violence to income inequality to existing flawed legislation, all disproportionately impacting minority communities.
The protest reaches the Dept of Corrections #TonyRobinson @dailycardinal pic.twitter.com/PsrtqZrIwA
— Irene Burski (@ireneski317) March 11, 2015
“If we don’t fight for the the least of us, the most marginalized, the most disenfranchised, the people whose backs are pushed to the wall, then what are we fighting for?” said Young, Gifted and Black Coalition leader Brandi Grayson. “We are here today to connect the dots, and we have a lot of dots to connect.”
Each destination and the covered distance of the demonstration made the march about the “bigger picture,” according to State Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee. He said linked institutional systems are failing to ensure minority communities have access to opportunity, correlating with a perpetuation of disparity.
“The only service that [people of color] get is when they are accused of committing crimes and being a burden to society,” Bowen said. “The next step is to continue to make sure that [Gov. Scott Walker] will actually do something on this issue — not just paying lip service … He needs to focus on his own state.”
The Black Lives Matter, along with a list of demands, has been hung on the Governors Mansion Gate pic.twitter.com/Hg9yE1MQKQ
— Emily Buck (@buckemily64) March 11, 2015
Clashes with law enforcement did not occur, with police officers keeping a respectful distance.
“We tried to get a plan together to make sure they had safe movement through the city on the city streets,” said Madison Police Department Officer Lester Moore. “The school-to-prison pipeline is important [and] something we need to address. I think this is history in the making.”
However, outside the gates of the Governor’s Mansion, the context of fear and pain surrounding Robinson’s death at the hands of policing efforts was too prevalent to ignore.
“He did not deserve how he died,” said Mariah Stevens, who was close to Robinson, considering him family. “He meant so much to us. We all grew up on Willy Street. And just because of what happened to Tony, we don’t even feel safe.”
Others echoed Stevens’ words, emphasizing how this type of violence is not a new narrative.
“People are tired. People want their government to work with them,” said Maria Hamilton, the mother of the late Dontre Hamilton, who was killed by Milwaukee police in 2014. “We keep asking, and now it’s time to show up and get the job done. Because they’re not going to do it.”
