Tensions are mounting between activists with the Black Lives Matter movement and the small-business community.
At issue is whether the disruption caused by demonstrations, and in some cases violent riots and looting, is unfairly targeting already hard-hit small businesses that have nothing to do with the police brutality motivating the protests.
Exemplifying this were recent marches through Providence in which protestors stood across from Federal Hill’s DePasquale Square, blocking traffic and chanting to an unprepared audience of people dining outside.
Brooklyn Toussaint, founder of the activist group PROVX, which organized a march on Aug. 24 in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, defended the choice of location.
“There’s no peace for the Black community, so there should not be peace for anyone else,” Toussaint said. She added that it was “tone deaf” for people to enjoy outside dining amid a pandemic and nationwide racial-justice protests.
Toussaint also said the protest was peaceful, although some news reports stated there was a verbal confrontation between protesters and diners upset by their presence.
‘Activists are determined, and their protests are going to continue.’
KATHERINE TATE, Brown University political science professor
The biggest problem for the restaurants, which have struggled to rebuild business primarily through outdoor dining, was not the protest itself, but the lack of notice, according to Rick Simone, president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association.
Speaking on behalf of the restaurant owners – they declined to be interviewed – Simone said they supported the movement, and might have even taken part had they known what was coming.
“I believe these protests really missed an opportunity to engage with the business community and request a dialogue for how to support them,” Simone said. “There are plenty of ways to stage a peaceful protest that don’t involve hurting people’s livelihood or destroying someone else’s business.”
Toussaint insisted that the protest was not intended to hurt restaurants – among the chants were those encouraging diners to tip their wait staff, she said. But given the choice of location, and what Simone described as “yelling” at families dining outside, it was hard for local restaurants not to feel targeted, according to Simone.
As the racial-justice movement gains traction, businesses should prepare for a season of protests and demonstrations lasting at least until the presidential election or potentially beyond, according to Katherine Tate, a Brown University political science professor.
Another protest took place at DePasquale Square on Sept. 1.
“Activists are determined, and their protests are going to continue until they get real reform,” Tate said. And the general public appears to be on their side; Tate referenced a June survey by Pew Research Center in which nearly two-thirds of Americans expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, Tate also noted that that support may waver if activists are unable to separate their cause from incidents of violence and looting that have coincided with some protests. Whether criticism of the Federal Hill protests might undermine local efforts to bring attention to police brutality, she was unsure.
Either way, business owners would do well to work with protesters in order to prepare for potential disruptions caused by rallies and marches, she said.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
