How can you expect a mom to remain silent when her child is being dragged into the vehicle by camouflage masked men!
Image Source – Google | image by Kiro7
As a mom in Portland, Oregon, was witnessing the rise in tension, she didn’t resist herself but to step up and protect the demonstrators.
A group of at least 30 mothers formed a human barricade called a “Wall of Mom” to protect the protestors from federal officers during the demonstrations against police brutality and racism in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday.
Over two months, the protests have been carried in the city of Oregon to raise the voice for the #BalckLivesMovement. While many of the demonstrations were peaceful, there were also instances of violence, vandalism, arrests, arson and allegations of police brutality.
Bev Barnum, a resident of Portland, expressed grave concern over the videos showing federal agents were arresting demonstrators.
“It didn’t take long for me to find a massive array of video displaying obvious human rights violations,” Barnum told a private news organization.
The unidentified, masked men were seen dragging protestors into the unmarked vehicles, arresting demonstrators in Portland. These suspicious arrests have pushed the State’s US attorney to take action and call for a prompt investigation into the situation.
“But I thought I needed to do more so I asked the Portland working moms group to protest with me– to shield the protestors from harm with our mom bods,” says Burnum, the founder of Mom wall.
Several videos went viral on Twitter, showing concerned mothers forming a human wall between demonstrators and federal agents, chanting “Feds stay clear! Moms are here!” at a protest held at a federal courthouse.
In fact, in the past few days, the city of Portland was attracting most of the attention as the Trump administration deployed federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security to ease the tension rising in the city. This action has sparked controversy and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has also condemned the federal response. He calls the action, “an attack on our democracy.”
Mom Joining Forces against unlawful tactics of Federal agents
Image Source – Google | Image by CNN
Mexican America, Burnum, has collaborated with Don’t Shoot Portland, an activist group advocating for social change in Portland since 2014.
“We are just amplifying their message,” says Rebecca, a mom from the demonstration. “Parents have been out there protesting. Black mothers have been doing this forever trying to get justice for their children.”
The founder of Mom wall, Burnum, has created a Facebook event page to raise funds and support against the unlawful tactics of federal agents during demonstrations. She wrote on her Facebook event page: “Calling all mom, Let’s do what we do best-protect people. As most of you have read and seen on the news, protestors are being hurt (without cause). And as of late, protestors are being stripped of their rights by being placed in unmarked cars by unidentifiable law enforcement.”
She ended the post with, “We moms are often underestimated. But we are stronger than we’re given credit for. So what do you say? Will you stand with me? Will you help me create a wall of moms?”
The number of mothers showed support and joined forces with Burnum to help bring protection to demonstrators in downtown Portland.
“I became concerned for the young people getting tear-gassed and flash-banged by police,” says Rebecca. “It’s like a war zone down there.”
The group of moms grew more prominent as the post went viral on their social media groups, bringing 200 women to join the wall of Moms movement by Sunday night, according to Barnum.
The movement founder asked them to prepare for the worst, wear a helmet, and have a water bottle, in case the police decided to tear-gassed them.