Businesses board up ahead of Vancouver anti-racism protest despite promises for gathering to be peaceful

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Black Lives Mater protests will again take to the streets of B.C. today, in solidarity with demonstrations across the U.S.

Events set for Vancouver and Abbotsford are expected to be peaceful, but some businesses are already boarded up.

In Downtown Vancouver, some windows have been covered and merchandise has been removed from window displays.

“We stand with you in solidarity, but we don’t need a riot here,” protest organizer Jacob Callender-Prasad tells CityNews Vancouver, adding he and others are doing all they can to ensure the demonstration stays peaceful.

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However, he says it can take just one person to incite violence.

“We don’t know what could happen. We’re not 100 per cent sure that someone’s going to go throw a rock into a window or that someone’s going to try to aggravate the crowd and start a fight,” he says.

Callender-Prasad was behind last weekend’s protest in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, which drew thousands of people who stood together peacefully.

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“And that’s what the goal is for this time as well, to have a peaceful protest,” Constable Tania Visintin with the Vancouver Police Department says. “So, there will be officers on the street keeping everyone, including the protesters, safe.”

Friday’s protest in Vancouver is expected to draw an even bigger crowd.

It was originally planned as a walk through the downtown area, however, with uncertainty over crowd size and what could happen, Callender-Prasad says the event has been changed to a gathering at Jack Poole Plaza.

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“It’s easier to control a crowd here and keep people safe if people are confined to one spot,” he explains.

Meanwhile, postings for a protest in Abbotsford this afternoon say violence or destructive actions will not be tolerated by organizers.

Demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd last week have been ongoing across the U.S. for several days now. Video shows the unarmed black man was pinned to the ground by the knee of a white officer for several minutes, despite Floyd’s pleas for him to get off and while he repeated the words “I can’t breathe.”

The now-former officer who pinned Floyd down, Derek Chauvin, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Former officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting in the killing.

The Vancouver protest begins at 4:00 p.m. while the Abbotsford gathering is set for 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of West Railway and Essendene.

People who are feeling unwell and those with weakened immune systems are being asked to refrain from joining in.

Abbotsford organizers say the peaceful demonstration, which is being held to stand in solidarity against police brutality against Indigenous and black communities, will also feature a candlelight vigil at 6:00 p.m.

Anyone attending these events is asked to wear a face mask and respect physical distancing. Masks and gloves for those in need will also be handed out in Vancouver.