Protests, parties mark Tri-Cities Fourth of July
This Fourth of July was marked by Tri-Cities protests of systemic racism alongside people gathering in parks in a stand against coronavirus restrictions.
Members of Blackformation, a Black Lives Matter group, organized a protest against the traditional holiday in John Dam Plaza in Richland.
The group is one of three in the Tri-Cities that has picked up the mantle of Black empowerment.
More than 200 gathered to question whether the Fourth of July is a correct celebration of freedom in the country, since slaves weren’t free until June 19, 1865.
“We still love America, that’s why we want to fix America,” said speaker Cailey Wright, telling the crowd that they need to show love to everyone.
“You don’t need to harm anyone. There is only one love, one race,” she said.
Doug McKinley, a Richland attorney, said some people saw Colin Kaepernick’s protest kneeling during the National Anthem during National Football League games as disrespectful but it was “truly patriotic.”
He pointed out the signers of the Declaration of Independence said they wouldn’t be treated as second-class citizens.
“The history of this country has been a history of a 244-year struggle to capture those same rights, those same principles and those same opportunities that the Founding Fathers took for themselves and apply them to everyone,” McKinley said.
Another speaker, Michelle Blevins, said she was glad to see such a diverse crowd in the park to support the movement.
A counter-protester, carrying an American flag and a T-shirt that read “BLM & Antifa are terrorists,” climbed onto the same stage Saturday and tried to disrupt the speeches.
Richland police came and spoke with the man, who remained on the stage, but allowed the speakers to continue talking to the crowd.
Protesters blocked George Washington Way for eight minutes and 46 seconds. The same amount of time that the officer knelt on Floyd’s neck.
A protester was hurt as they were marching down the center of George Washington Way. A van allegedly tried to going around traffic, starting a confrontation. The people in the van ended up driving off and running over the man’s foot.
He was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
A more informal, different protest was planned in Columbia Park in Kennewick.
Organizers called on Tri-Citians to go to the park to celebrate the Fourth of July against Washington state stay-home orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19.
The flyer called on people to flock to the park on July 5 to celebrate “Tri-Cities Independence Day.” Another group was encouraging people to come to the park on July 4.
By midday both days, some holiday revelers were gathering to enjoy the hot day outside but the park was not crowded. Many were not wearing masks but appeared to be staying distant from each other.
Others gathered to watch World War II-era airplanes fly over Kennewick and Richland on Saturday morning. The planes came from Hangar 180 and Hillcrest Aviation in Lewiston, Idaho.
About 40 people gathered at Columbia Park to watch the five airplanes fly over shortly after 9 a.m.
This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 2:59 PM.