Community organizers in Collier County are preparing for a We Can’t Breathe rally taking place Wednesday, June 10. Organizers say the demonstration will not only focus on the voices of the county’s youth, but will also inform them on how to effectively bring about the social reform they seek.
The local chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice, or SURJ, organized the event with the help of The Hippie Circle.
For the last five years, The Hippie Circle has focused on Collier County’s music scene, creating a platform for musicians to be seen and heard. The group will be using that platform to promote social reform during the upcoming demonstration against police brutality and racial injustice.
The Hippie Circle’s co-founder, Daniel Noelizaire, said he saw the protest as an opportunity to connect his base with established community organizers to bring about social change that is long overdue.
"I really just wanted to help," Noelizaire said. "You know, as a black man in the struggle, it's been way too long; just way too long of a fight."
NAACP Collier County connected Noelizaire with SURJ. The chapter has been organizing people in the county for about six years.
"That moves me so much, that they are actually willing to educate the youth, the future, the minorities, the downtrodden and equip them with the tools that they need to rise up," Noelizaire said. "We have a break, and people need to know that, like, this is our break, let’s not mess it up."
Local SURJ lead organizer, Ellen Hemrick, said a lot of planning goes into organizing mass gatherings.
"Organizing speakers, deciding on the content and the messaging for the rally, developing posters for social media, dealing with security concerns, we’re getting voter registration to happen at the rally," Hemrick said.
Hemrick said SURJ's goal for the rally is to help facilitate young people’s passions into social reform, and to get their voices heard.
"I am a 50-year-old white woman and they are young people of color with their finger on the pulse of Collier County, so my role is to help give them a platform," Hemrick said.
Beyond getting young people in Collier County to organize, the purpose of the rally will be to teach those who come how to take action.
The Hippie Circle will provide a QR code that protesters can scan with their phones to access information about topics being discussed during the rally along with instructions on how to mobilize.
In a statement, the organizers said protesters will echo the demands of the NAACP: increased oversight of policing via Civilian Review boards, expansion of pre-trial arrest programs, defunding police budgets in favor of investment in the public defender’s office, an end to the 287 (g) program, and changes to the police union contract that give bad cops protection.
Hemrick said the traction of this year’s “I can’t breathe” movement that sprung up after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, makes her feel hopeful that the systems in place will finally be overhauled.
"We saw people come to us when Trayvon Martin was murdered, when Eric Gardner was murdered, when Philando Castile was murdered and all of those should’ve been enough," Hemrick said. "But now there is a wave of people coming to us not just saying ‘hey what can I do?' but, ‘I’m ready to work,' and this is a beautiful moment."
Collier’s “We Can’t Breathe” rally will be held on Wednesday, June 10 at 6:00 p.m. at the Collier County Courthouse.
