SOMA Action Blog
July 4th Violin Vigil Honors Elijah McClain
More than 200 people gathered in Maplewood’s Memorial Park for a Violin Vigil in honor of Elijah McClain. Organized by Barbara Velazquez of the SOMA Action Racial Justice Committee, the event featured speeches by local political leaders and activists and performances by local musicians.
A Pregnant Moment in Time
by Barbara Velazquez, Co-Chair, SOMA Action Racial Justice Committee
These last two weeks have been tough for our nation and around the world. We’ve seen the pictures, we heard “I can’t breathe” uttered yet again as we watched in horror as George Floyd’s death unfolded before our very eyes. We have seen marches held in all 50 states and may even have participated in a few. Protests in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa all paid homage to a previously unknown black man who met a sad and brutal death in America. The death of George Floyd has shaken the world. The protests, the speeches, the rage, the fires. All indelibly impressed into the global consciousness.
The world is listening and watching. So how are we going to use this moment…
SOMA Against Hate Collective Statement in response to racist attack on 5/8/2020
The members of the SOMA Against Hate Collective were incensed by the racist incident that occurred almost a month ago in South Orange. On Friday, May 8th, Maplewood resident C.J. Burgess came to assist her father, Aubrey Burgess, with his stalled car outside of his business on South Orange Avenue. As C.J. was in the process of jumpstarting Aubrey’s car, Ryan Pogany drove up and began berating them for blocking his ability to make deliveries for Bunny’s restaurant, where he is employed. His tirade escalated from profanity to xenophobia, as Pogany told Aubrey Burgess…