There were three anti-racism rallies in Northeastern Nova Scotia over the weekend.
The rallies, like others across the country were organized in solidarity with ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the United States sparked by the murder of an African-American man by Minneapolis Police Officers and recent police shootings of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
More than 300 people attended an event in Mabou on Saturday, where residents of western Cape Breton heard from African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq leaders from the Island about the realities of racism in our communities and what we must do to end it. Thousands of others watched a video of the rally online. The event also raised more than $2,700 for the African
Orthodox Church in Whitney Pier.
About 100 people attended an anti-racism rally Saturday in Port Hawkesbury. Among the dignitaries on hand were Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton and Cape Breton Canso MP Mike Kelloway.
About 500 people participated in a March and Rally in New Glasgow on Saturday in support of Black Lives Matter. More than half a dozen speakers shared their experiences with racism in Pictou County. Indigenous leaders from the Pictou Landing First Nation were also there in support including Chief Andrea Paul.