Protest ‘O the Week
by digby
There were a lot of them. The protests in Hong Kong were huge and potentially very significant. But my vote goes to this one, which I think was quite amazing:
Protesters rallying over the slaying of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown left the streets on Saturday night, put on sports coats and fancy dresses and sat in on the St. Louis Symphony.
During the intermission of a performance of Brahms Requiem, the 23 protesters sitting in various parts of the auditorium stood up and sang, “Requiem for Mike Brown.”
“Justice for Mike Brown is Justice for us All,
Which side are you on friend? Which side are you on?”As they began to sing, protests unfurled banners from the balcony that encouraged symphony patrons to “join the movement.”
The group was surprised by the response, said Derek Laney, an organizer for Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment. Instead of being ushered out in handcuffs by police, some patrons of the symphony — and some symphony members themselves — applauded the tuneful message. The group left on their own after about a minute and a half of singing, while they chanted “Blacks Lives Matter.”
“It went to show that there are people among that crowd who think that the protests matter and that it’s not okay to just kill black children, and they’d be receptive to hear that message,” Laney said. “It was a perfect moment. As we left, people were smiling and reaching out to shake our hands.”