Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest

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By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer

Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A protester holds a sign as the sun sets behind her, June 8.

Hudson – Several hundred protesters packed the town hall lawn, then stretched down two more blocks of downtown Hudson, June 8, in solidarity with the national Black Lives Matter movement.

Gathering after a week that saw protests fan out across the region, the event drew immense participation from area youth while also attracting the attention of elected officials including Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Lowell), whose Third Congressional District includes Hudson.

“I haven’t seen anything quite like this in my lifetime,” Trahan said. “This is the catalyst and accelerant that we need to turn apathy and inaction into policy and change.”

Trahan stood behind the densest part of the crowd, which pushed against Main St., holding a handmade sign with her young daughter by her side. Deeper within the mass before her, state level politicians Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) and Kate Hogan (D-Stow) also mingled.

“We’re standing with solidarity with the black and brown community that for too long hasn’t felt valued in our country,” Trahan said.

Hudson’s protest came exactly two weeks after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a black man, by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. That act, caught on tape by multiple bystanders, reignited mass outrage over police brutality, spawning a national protest movement that’s drawn thousands into city streets despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As the region protested throughout the past week, however, Hudson was one of the only area towns without organized demonstrations.

Still, outrage over George Floyd’s death persisted in the local online groups. Seeing that, primary protest organizer Julie Pote took action.

“This is where I live,” she said. “It’s my community and I knew people would come out to support.”

Speaking holding a stroller where her two African American children sat, Pote said this whole effort is for those kids.

She wants a better world for them.

Seeing others joining in that call for change, Pote said she was overjoyed.

“It’s completely amazing,” she said. “I never anticipated it being this big and I couldn’t be more proud of this community.”

(Photos by/Dakota Antelman)

Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A dog wears its own sandwich board proclaiming the popular protest slogan “no justice, no peace!”
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Three protesters cross Main St. in Hudson to join the larger mass of demonstrators on the town hall lawn.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A protester holds a sign while another watches the crowd before him.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
US Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Lowell) holds a handmade sign with her daughter next to her during her visit to the Hudson protest.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A man waves to passing cars during Hudson’s protest.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Hudson’s Town Hall stands in the background behind a sea of protesters filling its lawn, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Hudson’s Town Hall stands in the background behind a sea of protesters filling its lawn, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A protester holds a sign amid Hudson’s protest.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A protest leader raises a fist, leading a chant.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Protesters line Main St. in Hudson in a crowd that spilled off the town hall lawn and towards the downtown rotary.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A woman hula-hoops during Hudson’s protest, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Protesters kneel in memory of black men and women killed by police, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A line of protesters kneels against a bush on the Hudson Town Hall lawn.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A man holds a sign and raises his fists as other protesters cheer, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Protesters kneel as others raise fists during a moment of silence, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
Protesters kneel as others raise fists during a moment of silence, June 8.
Hundreds fill downtown Hudson for police brutality protest
A young protester raises his fist in solidarity, June 8. Riding his bike through downtown, he happened upon the protest by chance, dismounted and quietly paused, raising his fist in the air.

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