City of Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given (City of GP)

By EverythingGP Staff

black lives matter

Grande Prairie Mayor to stand in solidarity at upcoming Black Lives Matter protest

Jun 5, 2020 | 4:40 PM

A peaceful Black Lives Matter rally will happen in Grande Prairie on Saturday, June 6. The rally is being organized by Grande Prairie resident Isaac Bryant. The rally is in protest to systematic racism and police brutality against black people.

Across North America, rallies, protests and marches have been held, many of them sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody.

Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given said that he will be in attendance on Saturday to stand in solidarity with the community. He says that he is proud of Grande Prairie, but acknowledges that problems do exist.

“I fully recognize that there are many, many things within Grande Prairie that can, and should, be better. I fully recognize that there is systemic racism that is prevalent within our community, and I am thankful that there are people that are willing to speak up about that.”

Mayor Given says that the planned rally is completely community run and led, and that this gives the opportunity for people to listen.

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“I think in many cases, what we’re seeing is communities taking on a leadership role, and demonstrating to the power structures that exist, what needs to happen. The job of people in formal roles, like mine, is to ensure that we are hearing with open hearts, and that we are carefully listening to the words and experiences that people are sharing with us.”

He says that that it is important people acknowledge the differences and challenges some may face in their lives due to things outside of their control, like the colour of their skin.

“The sad fact is that for reasons that existed long before any of us were alive, many of our systems have significant, underlying faults. We all have an ability to change those systems, if we choose to.”

The rally will begin outside of the Grande Prairie Courthouse at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The march is planned to go through downtown, and will circle back to the Courthouse at around 3 p.m.