Noisy protest outside Thurston jail focused on racial injustice in policing, incarceration
Over 150 demonstrators used drums, cymbals, pots, pans, buckets, and at least one tuba and accordion to make noise outside the Thurston County jail Friday night, in a show of support for inmates and to call attention to racial injustice in policing and incarceration.
The crowd filled about half the parking lot outside the jail, which holds inmates who are awaiting trial or who have been sentenced to one year or less of confinement.
About a dozen speakers talked about the need for a systemic overhaul of the justice system and the disproportionate number of Black people who are imprisoned in the United States.
The event was organized by Olympia Black Lives Matter Community Council, a newly formed group that emerged from a meeting a few nights prior in Sylvester Park, where people have been gathering for open forums on racism.
Miguel Lofland, who helped organize the event, said resources should be directed away from punitive systems like police and prisons.
“The defunding and the abolition of police should be our main goal,” Lofland said. “If we can take that money and invest it in our communities, we can solve the societal issues that lead a person to turn to desperation in the first place.”
Lofland pointed out that Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, is still not recognized as a national holiday.
“How many of y’all didn’t know about Juneteenth until this year,” asked co-organizer Simeon Rivers. About 10 people raised their hands.
One person held a sign that read “slavery was not abolished, it was reformed.”
Other speakers brought up that inmates at the Thurston facility have died in custody. In 2018, at least two inmates were found unresponsive, The Olympian reported. One was 86 years old, the other 34.
Protesters marched around the perimeter of the jail, some jostling the metal fence. There was a brief standoff with Thurston County law enforcement officers in a parking lot behind the jail, where about a dozen officers stood in line, side by side. The standoff ended with protesters leaving the parking lot and marching to the nearby juvenile detention facility.
A few Sheriff’s Office cruisers and unmarked vehicles were also visibly patrolling the area.
Outside the juvenile facility, protesters made more noise and set off fireworks. A few people brought down the Thurston County and American flags from the flagpole in front of the facility and burned them.
The ongoing pandemic showed itself at the protest through the masked faces of protesters and the careful use of antibacterial wipes on the bullhorn between speakers. At a table in front of the mental health triage center adjacent to the jail were not just free snacks, pizza, water, and ear plugs for protesters, but also free cloth face coverings.
By 9 p.m., about half the group had filtered off as others remained to march around the juvenile facility.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 11:31 PM.
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