We continue the series on walking Buffalo, from the intrepid couple who walked every day—no matter the weather—in the first 30 months of Covid. They think (without being systematic) they walked every street in Buffalo, and many in other cities and towns, taking some 20,000 photos, some of which are shared in this series. While not itineraries, we hope to encourage others to “walk the walk,” to see, observe and appreciate Buffalo—and beyond. William Graebner and Dianne Bennett are also 5 Cent Cine’s film critics, here.
Today’s photo-essay: Black Lives Matter
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013, in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Since then, Black Lives Matter has been both a slogan and a highly decentralized political and social movement, focusing on intervening to stop violence inflicted on Black communities. In 2014, following the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, the movement became known for street demonstrations. Protests against police brutality became world-wide following the murder of 46-year-old George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.
As walkers, our experience with Black Lives Matter was for the most part confined to one aspect of the movement—its banners and signs—and we didn’t see many of those until March of 2020, when we began to venture onto the East Side as part of our stay-out-of-the-gym “covid” exercise program.
Not long after Floyd died with a knee on his neck, “Black-Lives-Matter” protests broke out in Buffalo. Protests in the city became widespread on May 30, with large gatherings in Niagara Square (the crowd shouting “I can’t breathe”). On June 5, hundreds of protesters marched up Pine Avenue in Niagara Falls toward the police station. On June 7, Bills’ defensive tackle Dion Dawkins was reported as saying, “Black men are dying at the rate of an endangered species.” And on June 21, signs on the marquees at each gate of New Era Field read: “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
In the months that followed, we saw dozens of Black Lives Matter signs and banners, most, but not all, on the East Side.
By far the largest banner we came across was displayed in the 900 block of Genesee Street, across from the King Urban Life Center:
Another large banner was strung across the front porch of a residence not far from Bennett High School:
In May of 2021, we found this sign in the Kensington Plaza (Kensington Avenue at Eggert Road), remembering George Floyd:
On the upper West Side, this sign referred to people from Puerto Rico, by birth or descent:
A lawn display on Ashland Avenue in Elmwood Village called on those passing by to “Say Their Names,” referring to Black men and women victimized by racial violence:
And on the lower West Side, a mural, perhaps originally dedicated to Buffalo (and to its newer residents from warmer climes, symbolized by the palm tree), now included Black Lives Matter (and All Lives Matter):
Depictions of George Floyd were rare. We came across only two. One, at the end of an urban farm on Broadway, was a portrait of Floyd, surrounded by the names of others who died at the hands of police or vigilantes. The portrait is no longer there.
I could be mistaken, but I felt this “sculpture” on a tree, encountered in March 2021 near the North Buffalo Ice Rink, was a representation of George Floyd (inset).
Though often associated with George Floyd and police brutality, as a broader movement Black Lives Matter took on other issues. At a clothing boutique on Fillmore Avenue, a sign in the window, complete with African symbolism, proclaimed “Black Businesses Matter.”
Cousin Vinny’s Tire Company Truck, usually seen parked in the Masten Park district, featured Black Lives Matter prominently:
This sign, at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Northland Avenue, linked Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, and the incarceration of African Americans:
Often, Black Lives Matter was fused with Pan-African ideology, represented by the Pan-African Flag (on the right, in the Fillmore district; the flag on the left is the flag of Trinidad and Tobago) and ancient Egypt (Elmwood Avenue):
No doubt Black Lives Matter encouraged affirmations of Blackness, in this case associated with Africa:
Inevitably, there was opposition, usually in the form of support for the police. “Blue Lives Matter” flags—in blue, black and white, usually with a blue stripe and the stars on a black field—were a not uncommon sight. We found this one in Niagara Falls:
It was perhaps inevitable, too, that the anger that fueled the protests sometimes spilled over into vandalism.
In response to incidents and threats of vandalism associated with the protests, local merchants boarded up store fronts.
Our first photos involving the Black Lives Matter movement were taken on the morning of May 31, 2020, during a walk down Delaware Avenue and up Elmwood Avenue.
The folks at Buffalo Optical had boarded up the front window. The business had been looted (Ray-Bans were the favored item), but the window covering also served to protect the lovely (and, remarkably, two-sided) painting by Chloe Smith (which narrowly missed the cut in an earlier photo-essay on murals).
Two men inspected a damaged, boarded-up window at City Hall:
On lower Elmwood, a woman painted a sign on a boarded-up window at Fry Baby Donuts.
Further north, Elmwood Discount Liquor & Wine sought to protect its inventory, and Divine Machine Tattoo Parlor was sealed tight as a drum and featured a sign that suggested the movement’s history:
Elmwood Discount Liquor & Wine sought to protect its inventory
Divine Machine Tattoo Parlor was sealed tight as a drum and featured a sign that suggested the movement’s history
Further north…
About 10 months after the George Floyd protests, we purchased a large Black Lives Matter flag, which we flew from a flag holder on our apartment building terrace. It wasn’t long before neighbors objected. Reluctantly, we took it down.
Postscript: In the 2022 framework for its Advanced Placement courses, the College Board deleted an entire unit on “the origins, mission and global influence of the Black Lives Matter movement.” The current curriculum does not use the term “Black Lives Matter.”
© William Graebner
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Look Up! Roofs and Roofers
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Buffalo’s Mini-Marts
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Remembering 9/11
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Street Humor
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – The Yard as Spectacle
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Beware of (the) Dog
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo — Halloween
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo: Little-Known Trails and Paths
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo: Church Board Advice
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo: Coping with Covid
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo: Planters
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo: Christmas Tidings
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo: Murals… Off-the-Beaten Path
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo: Scajaquada Creek
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Block Clubs
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