In recent weeks, anti-racism protests have been taking place across North America. Small town Alberta is no exception and local Innisfail woman attempted to organize an event for her town. The anti-racism protest in Innisfail was swiftly postponed after receiving harsh backlash from some community members. The organizer has now come forward to say that the protest was postponed because there are “too may racists” in the prairie community.
Brittany Bovey of Innisfail, Alberta was the individual who organized an anti-racist march.
Her efforts quickly turned and Bovey was forced to postpone the event.
According to her Facebook page, the event was to be held on Saturday, June 13.
The peaceful protest was supposed to help voices be heard, recognized, and uplifted. Violence of any kind was not to be tolerated and social distancing protocols were asked to be respected.
“Speaking as a white woman, I cannot understand your pain or your anger. But what I WILL do is support you, encourage you, and work towards anti-racist policies,” wrote Bovey on Facebook.
“Let us honour & remember George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other victims of police brutality as well.”
Bovey later came out to say that the Innisfail protest would need to be postponed until further notice.
However, in the end, her good intentions prevailed. In a later update, Bovey wrote on Facebook that the protest is back on at its original date and time.
She is encouraging everyone to come out and show their support for the movement.
In her initial Facebook post, the organizer said that there were “too my racists” in town. She also questioned when everyone would be ready for something like this.
The Calgary Herald described one reason for the cancellation as the angry backlash on Facebook.
Bovey spoke with the outlet, saying that her town of 8,000 people has a “sizable” amount of residents that are “hostile to Black Lives Matter.”
When posting the event, it was met with aggressive comments from people denying the need for an event in the rural town, she said.
Some of the comments included “when is the white lives matter protest” and “I hope no one shows up to your stupid rally” reported the Calgary Herald.
In her status on Facebook after the postponing, Bovey wrote that she is “disgusted and disappointed — but not surprised” at the "uncomfortable" levels of racism in her town.
“To some, racism is a joke in Innisfail and it simply will not be tolerated,” said the protest organizer.
Bovey wrote that residents could now look forward to having a “community conversation” in order to have an open and honest discussion about how to address racism.
Under her post, many comments showing disappointment in the town's reactions have been posted.
There are also several comments from people in other Canadian cities telling Bovey to protest elsewhere.
A Facebook group called Central Alberta Against Racism has started. There are over 500 members.
This is not the first solidarity march to receive backlash. In Toronto, a person showed up in blackface.
Narcity has reached out to the town of Innisfail for comments and we will update this story when we receive a response.