GREENFIELD — More than a hundred people from Greenfield and the surrounding communities took to the city center Saturday morning as part of a counter-protest to a Trump rally that was expected to take place at the same time nearby.
“The greatest part of today is Greenfield is seeing us,” said Brieanna Arsenault to the people at Saturday’s counter-protest. “We’ve achieved our purpose.”
People gathered at all four corners of the downtown intersection holding anti-President Trump signs and posters in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
About a half-mile away at Greenfield Middle School on Federal Street, a handful of residents from Franklin County met for a Trump rally planned by Jared Raymond, of Bernardston, and Dianne Bassett, of Gill.
“I want people to know there are Trump supporters,” Raymond said. “They might not come out because they might have fear, and I understand that.”
Raymond said the event planned for 10 a.m. on Saturday was meant to offer an opportunity for conservatives to share their voice.
“I didn’t support (Barack) Obama, but I didn’t bash him,” said Raymond of the recent anti-Trump rallies. “I support the office of the presidency.”
He expressed frustration with the “blame Trump” mentality, and said he had concerns for the mail-in ballot initiatives and efforts nationwide to defund the police.
The plan, initially, was for the rally participants to walk to the Greenfield Common. Those plans changed when organizers learned of the counter-protest gathered there already.
“I don’t hate anybody for what they believe,” Bassett said. “We just want our voices to be heard.”
Both she and Raymond said they didn’t want any trouble, which is one of the reasons the group chose not to proceed with their plans to walk to the town center.
“We don’t cause trouble,” Raymond said.
Raymond, who said he’s been to Trump rallies with people from all walks of life, said he doesn’t identify with the far right or the far left, but that he believes all lives matter.
“I care about all people. … All lives matter,” he said. “We want what’s best, and we have another side, and they want what’s best. We’re at a divide.”
Although the two demonstrations remained separate from one another, the divide Raymond spoke of was evident in the community on Saturday.
“All lives cannot matter until Black lives are equal to the other lives,” said Greenfield resident Vanessa Ricketts. “Right now, Black lives are treated as less than.”
Ricketts compared the phrase, “All Lives Matter,” to saving all creatures of the ocean when only the whales are in danger, or spraying water on all houses in a neighborhood when only one is on fire.
Sonseniora “Sunny” Walters said Saturday’s counter-protest was the largest Black Lives Matter demonstration she’d attended.
“It’s breathtaking to be a part of,” said Walters, who lives in Shelburne Falls and attends the nightly Black Lives Matter vigils there. “We’ve got to keep on this.”
Ella McDaniel and Carlie Kempf, both of Greenfield, who were aware of the Trump rally expected to take place on Federal Street, said the counter-protest on Saturday felt more like a celebration.
“It can’t be a one time thing,” McDaniel said. “I think it’s so important to keep this going. The more bodies out here, the bigger of a difference it makes.”
Arsenault, too, encouraged people at Saturday’s counter-protest to stay involved in the movement.
“Clearly,” she said, “Black lives matter in Greenfield.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne