I would like to thank three groups of people for making the evening of Friday, June 5, a most moving and powerful experience, as hundreds of us gathered together to protest murder and violence against others as well as police brutality. The first group I would like to thank is the Black Lives Matter organizers who made the event at the Moab Information Center happen. This organization has acted, for years now, on the belief that as Jesus said, “In as much as you have done this to the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me.” They remind us that even though no one of any race should be killed or treated as less than a person, in a country founded on the enslavement of black people, it is African Americans who have borne a most terrible burden from its beginning. The BLM folks here put together an intentional, peaceful and loving gathering.
The second group I would like to thank is our Moab Police force. They closed off part of Center Street for the overflow from the MIC and were present in the most professional and yes, compassionate way. I have never felt so literally protected and supported by police. They handed out bottles of water, along with the EMTs who were in the crowd. The Moab Police were the antithesis of the brutality of some police forces around the country.
The third but certainly not least group for which I am grateful is the several hundred people, the fellow protestors who with my husband and myself came together. They came not only with signs but with fiercely loving intentions to love and protect our sisters and brothers. Thank you everyone, who made this wonderful gathering take place. Let’s keep doing whatever we need to love, protect and stand for our fellow man and woman in any way we can. And for love’s sake VOTE on November 3.
E. J. Gore
Moab
