SUNDERLAND — For the third consecutive year, human rights groups in Sunderland, Deerfield and Hatfield are organizing a standout on the Sunderland Bridge (Route 116) to mark the date of George Floyd’s murder.

The Sunderland Human Rights Task Force, Deerfield Inclusion Group and Hatfield Equity Alliance Against Racism Together are sponsoring the standout, which will begin at the Sunderland Public Library at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. People will have a chance to make signs at the library before a procession to the bridge takes place at 4:20. The groups will reconvene at the library at 5:30 p.m. to close out the event.

“Americans have a history of forgetting about things they would rather not think about: uncomfortable things, awful things,” said Sunderland resident Diane Mercomes. “George Floyd’s murder is just such a thing, but I am determined not to let us forget about it. … The thing is, George Floyd is not alone. There have been hundreds of African Americans like him, perhaps thousands, whose lives have been expendable.”

The groups began organizing the standouts to protest the murder of George Floyd, who was killed by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. They’ve hosted the standout in subsequent years to continue raising awareness about racial justice in the U.S. In 2022, for example, those present reflected on the progress racial justice movements have made in the country, but were quick to note racism continues to fester, as their standout came just a week after a massacre at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store that left 10 Black people dead.

Alongside the Sunderland demonstration, there will be similar standouts occurring simultaneously on the Ashfield Town Common, in front of the Sweetheart Restaurant in Shelburne Falls, outside the Charlemont Federated Church and on Route 2 in front of Charlemont’s Little Red Schoolhouse. An additional standout was later added on the Greenfield Common. More information about those standouts can be found online at traprock.org.

The Rev. Randy Calvo, who coordinates the Hatfield Equity Alliance and is the pastor of congregational churches in Hatfield and Sunderland, said this type of standout is an extension of his religious beliefs.

“I take my cue from Jesus, who embraced everyone but gave special attention to the George Floyds of his day: the outcasts, the downtrodden, the lepers, the harlots and thieves,” Calvo said. “In other words, the marginalized and expendable people who ‘did not matter.’ These, too, were his people who deserved his love.”

Deerfield resident Lu Vincent, who is also a founding member of the Deerfield Inclusion Group, said the standout is an opportunity for people to call out acts of violence against people of color.

“We need to mark this anniversary because police violence and harassment against Black and brown people have not stopped,” Vincent said. “We need to raise our voices, we need to oppose and decry this situation and say as clearly as we can that it is not OK for this to be happening. It is really important that this conversation does not go quiet.”

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