In the largest march for racial justice in the city’s history, thousands marched in the streets of Charlottetown in solidarity with Black Lives Matter actions across North America.
People in the crowds, which skewed heavily towards younger people, wore cloth and surgical masks, often doing their best to maintain physical distancing.
Organizers estimated the size of the crowd to be between 2,500 and 3,500 people. The march stretched around several city blocks, snaking from the Coles Building down Grafton St. and eventually stopping at Rochford Square.
Organizers of Friday’s march expressed solidarity with Indigenous people in Canada, beginning all speeches with an acknowledgement of the event taking place on unceded Mi’kmaq territory.
Homemade signs bore the names of Black people who have been killed by police, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The crowd also held a moment of silence for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, an Afro-Indigenous woman who fell to her death from a Toronto apartment after police were called to her home.
Organizers stated several times that racism is very present in P.E.I.
“For those that say racism doesn’t exist in PEI, it does,” said Jasper, one of the organizers, in a speech.
“This place is diverse but it’s not inclusive.”
"For those who say it's an American thing I want us to remember that racism exists in different forms in different countries," said Daniel Ohaegbo another speaker.
Ohaegbo said police violence targeted against Black people happens too often in North America to be “just a few bad apples.”
"Generation after generation, they continue to do it and get away with it. Nothing ever happens until people start protesting,” Ohaegbo said.
Paul Amba, a political science student at UPEI, happened upon the march while out for a bike ride on Fitzroy St.
Amba said the march was a positive thing to see in P.E.I. But he had his doubts whether it alone would change things.
"What actually is going to change is Black people being in a situation of political power. We need to smarten up. This doesn't change anything, but it's necessary," Amba said.
Amba said there is often systemic racism in the workforce. He spoke about being “limited” in being able to get involved in local politics.
"If I was to get involved, it would have to be from a diversity perspective, where they would be like 'oh yeah, we need a Black person to be here just so everyone knows Black lives matter,’" Amba said.
"But besides that, it's not going to happen."
Many attendees spoke about the way that outward and systematic racism exists in P.E.I. Some spoke about racist comments directed at their children by other children in schools. Others talked about a lack of jobs or economic opportunities for Black people or minorities in P.E.I. Some talked about the experiences black students or international students face at UPEI.
Fewer direct criticisms were levelled at local policing issues in P.E.I.
Joshua Biggley attended the march, as a supporter, with his family because he believes systematic racism was wrong.
But he said he has concerns about the collection of private information of citizens by police in P.E.I.
Biggley said he received a $300 fine, related to late renewal of his car registration, due to a vehicle-mounted automated license plate reader. The cameras are currently being used by Charlottetown Police Services for over a year.
In the past, he has criticized the use of the cameras, which he believes collect information on a presumptive basis.
"I actually have a yet to be finalized complaint into the privacy commissioner," Biggley said.
Rochford Square, where the march finished, has an eerie significance for the history of Black Islanders.
The square was a stone’s throw from the site of the killing of George Kelly, a 16-year old Black man who was murdered by two white men on August 14, 1878. Two men were tried but found not guilty despite the presence of multiple witnesses.
