Evanston residents and city officials lined Ridge Avenue on Friday as part of a national effort to “stand against racism,” raise awareness and generate positive dialogue.
For the first time, Evanston participated in Stand Against Racism, a national event organized by the YWCA, in which people stand in a line for 10 minutes to display solidarity and the symbolic wall they would present in the face of racism.
Participants each stood on one “block” of sidewalk, encouraged by officials who paced along the road repeating, “one block per person.” Participants spanned the Ridge block from Simpson Street to Noyes Street.
“I was very moved by the number of people that came,” Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said. “I support the YWCA with its work on equality issues.”
YWCA Evanston/North Shore, 1215 Church St., organized the event and encouraged individuals and organizations to register ahead of time.
“It’s symbolic,” said Eileen Heineman, manager of racial justice programs for the YWCA. “The point of it is for us to see that we’re not in this alone.”
Heineman said she reached out to local churches and schools, including Northwestern, in an attempt to increase participation. About 2,000 people participated, said Julie McBratney, the YWCA’s communications director.
“There are lots of organizations and individuals in Evanston who are saying, ‘Yes, we’re aware that racism still exists, and we know that we need to work together to dismantle the way that it impacts our organizations and our cities and our personal lives,'” Heineman said.
The event was advertised on campus with flyers, which is where SESP junior Roderick Goodlow said he found out about it. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi, a multicultural fraternity, and said the symbolic event struck the right tone.
“It sends out a really strong message,” said Goodlow, a member of the NU football team. “I think it’s necessary to have an event like this. There’s a lot of people who are just not aware what’s going on. I’m not saying this is a bad city, but awareness is key for every situation in life.”
YWCA Evanston/North Shore coordinated with city officials, who took a break from the workday to stand outside of the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center.
Godwin Chen, who has a fellowship with the city, said it is important for residents and officials to openly confront racism.
“It’s important to continue this dialogue,” Chen said. “Evanston has had an interesting racial history. This is a topic that all cities want to continue working on. We’re not an exception to that.”
While the main “stand” event occurred on Ridge Avenue, a small group of employees from the Evanston Public Library formed a line on Orrington Avenue to show their support for the cause. Karen Danzcak Lyons, the library’s director, said it would have been difficult for the staff to get to Ridge given their work schedules.
“We support democracy and open access to info and we welcome everyone to come,” she said. “So we think taking a stand against racism is just a part of what we do as a public library.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that 50 people attended. More than 2,000 people participated, according to Julie McBratney, the YWCA’s communications director. The Daily regrets the error.
