Six years ago, after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, many activists in Boston participated in the national Black Lives Matter movement, marching in protests and demanding police reform.
But last month, after a white Boston police officer shot and killed Stephenson King, an unarmed Black man, there have been no similar widespread demonstrations in the city.
Activists offer a few reasons behind the lack of public protest. Some have called for the release of police body camera footage and are wary of organizing action before all the details of the shooting are known. Others stress that Boston activism has continued, albeit more behind closed doors than protests. And some activists note how the political climate has evolved since 2020, and they believe fear is keeping people from showing up and speaking out.
Rahsaan Hall, president of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, says the Trump administration’s actions have led to that culture of fear. He cited actions that impact on people of color, including canceled grants and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and the government cutting back on social safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.
“Members of the Black community and the activist Black community may be a little more pensive about mobilizing in this moment,” Hall said.
Even in a city with several prominent elected leaders of color, Hall said there’s more that needs to be done in regards to the community’s ability to leverage that power for its benefit.
“There is an opportunity to make sure that the needs and concerns of people in communities of color, particularly the Black community, are addressed and seen and followed through on,” he said.
King died last month in Roxbury’s Linwood Square at the hands of Nicholas O’Malley, a white Boston police officer, after being stopped for an alleged carjacking. The Suffolk County district attorney’s office told GBH News that King was attempting to leave the scene when O’Malley shot him three times. Investigators didn’t find a weapon on King or in the vehicle.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden charged O’Malley with manslaughter eight days after the shooting. O’Malley pleaded not guilty and was released as the case is heading to trial. On Monday, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced that he will be representing King’s family.
“Stephenson King Jr. should be alive today,” Crump said in a statement. “His family is now forced to carry the pain of a loss that should never have happened. The arrest and arraignment of the officer who killed him speaks volumes about the gravity of this case. This family deserves the full truth, real accountability, and justice that is not delayed or denied. We will not stop fighting until they get it.”
Sadiki Kambon, director of the Boston-based Black Community Information Center, is among the local activists calling for release of body camera footage. He said he expects public reaction to change once more information about the shooting is made public.
“Once that is put out there, you’ll see that there’ll be a real public outcry,” he said.
Kambon said King is “our George Floyd.”
“It was an unarmed Black man that was shot down in cold blood by a Boston police officer,” Kambon told GBH News.
But even if more information comes out, some local leaders don’t believe it will lead to action. Political analyst Jacquetta Van Zandt told GBH News that the city lacks a strong Black political movement to seek accountability.
“Because we don’t have Black political power in essence … this case will be just another example of either justified force or excessive force,’’ she said. “No one will take a stance anywhere.”
Despite the lack of traditional protesting, many community members say they are taking action in different ways. That includes gatherings and discussions with political leaders.
A recent community healing session hosted by the Boston Public Health Commission took place in the Linwood Square neighborhood in Roxbury, where the King shooting took place. Councilor Miniard Culpepper said the meeting was much needed for a community grappling with the aftermath of the shooting. Culpepper joined fellow Councilor Brian Worrell after King’s death to call for an examination of Boston police protocols for releasing camera footage.
He told GBH News that activism in Boston is happening more behind the scenes.
“Activists [are] still being active. I just think it’s different because it’s not as in the street. It’s in the Legislature,” he said. “If you look at the legislation that’s being filed, it’s activist legislation to change policies in the communities,” citing legislation regarding reparations and housing.
Former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, also a local activist, was at attendance during the community healing session in Roxbury following King’s death. During the session, she said that residents expressed frustration at the heavy police presence in their neighborhoods as well as the absence of top city officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and DA Hayden.
“Boston plays around the bubbling surface of racism. They want to act like it’s gone or act like it’s not an issue,” Wilkerson said. “You see the silence from people that you think would be speaking.”
Jamarhl Crawford, a local activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said he doesn’t feel there has been a dialed-down presence in Black activism.
Crawford has worked for years on police accountability and reform change. He was instrumental in helping create the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, which certifies and disciplines police officers, and actively compiles a database of police shootings.
Crawford said he wasn’t a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, because he said it “usurped and circumvented a lot of the actual work that had been going on for decades by grassroots folks in regards to police reform.”
“A lot of these protests were held on weekends and the State House isn’t even open,” Crawford said. “I always looked at that as kind of foolishness and a waste of time.”
He says lasting change requires coming up with policies and proposals for elected officials.
“Protest without policy, to me, is pointless,” Crawford said.
