Oct 29
Seniors for Justice: Residents at Aljoya Thornton Place Continue to Show Their Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement

Seniors for Justice: Residents at Aljoya Thornton Place Continue to Show Their Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement

In the midst of the pandemic that disrupted our lives, this summer we also were faced with grief and rage associated with multiple acts of racial injustice, including the horrific death of George Floyd.

Protests erupted across the nation to demand justice for George and all Black members of our community. And four residents at Aljoya Thornton Place, Susan and Robert Adriance and Frank and Mary Lee Backus, wanted to find a way to get involved and show their support.

“I was feeling frustrated that I could not participate in the protests downtown because of the pandemic, and I expressed these thoughts to my husband and the Backuses and found that they felt the same way,” shares Susan. “Then we thought, well why can’t we protest here without the big crowd?”

The four of them got to work on making signs and spreading the word to others at Aljoya Thornton Place via the community’s resident Google list.

The first protest was held outside the community on Friday, July 3rd and a total of 46 residents showed up to show their support, wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing. Since that initial week, about 35 residents have continued to protest each Friday (cancelling only the week that smoke from wildfires made the air quality unsafe to go outside). As of now, residents plan to continue protesting at least until early November.

“The protests started as a reaction to some of the news that was taking place in terms of justice issues. All minority groups that live in this country should be given an opportunity to live a full life and have a chance to get a good education. It’s my opinion that it’s our obligation to express how we feel about these issues that are affecting minority groups in our country,” shares Mary Lee. “It’s how we show love for our country. ”

At Era Living, we stand with the Black members of our community and are saddened by the inequities and bigotry they and other groups continue to face in the year 2020. We are very proud of our community for speaking up and voicing their support.