10 AM- Tuesday, June 2nd 

 Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and surrounding areas joined together to peacefully promote the Black Lives Matter movement.

Due to the overwhelming news on police brutality and the widely publicized death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has been at the forefront of social media and discussions. 

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 after police officer George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. Since then, the movement has become widely celebrated and recognized. 

After the death of George Floyd on May 25th, major protests in Minneapolis began. After riots and protests in Minneapolis, many other cities and communities have held protests. Click here to see a timeline.  

On Tuesday, June 2nd, family and community members who organized a peaceful march in Floyd’s hometown of Houston, TX, warned outside groups who have instigated violence to stay away as they memorialized Mr. Floyd

On the same day in our town, almost two hundred local high school, middle school, and college students chalked the streets of Rhinebeck with the names of police brutality victims. Chalk4change, a mid-Hudson resistance group, along with other youth members in our community helped to organize the protest. 

Chalk4change already organized a previous protest on May 31st in the streets of Red Hook. Their goal is to peacefully promote the Black Lives Matter movement and allow small towns to participate in the fight for racial justice. 

In the center of Rhinebeck, the streets and nearby parking lots were filled with the names of African Americans who lost their lives due to police brutality.

After chalking the town, students occupied the main intersection chanting and collecting donations from cars that passed by. 

Today, Chalk4chnage raised $915 for a number of organizations, including Black Mamas Bail Out, Reclaim the Block, and other important organizations. 

If you would like to donate, please take some time to click on the linked the organizations  below:

-Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate

-George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

-Communities Against Police Brutality: https://www.cuapb.org/

-North Star Health Collective: https://northstarhealth.wordpress.com/donate/

-Black Visions Collective: https://www.payit2.com/fundraiser/98548

-Unicorn Riot: https://unicornriot.ninja/donate/

-I run with Maud: https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud

-Citizen Action NY: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/standupfightback

-Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Organizations in Kingston to donate to:

-Center 4 Creative Education (Kingston, NY): http://cce4me.org/

-RiseUp (Kingston, NY): https://secure.riseupkingston.org/np/clients/riseupkingston/donation.jsp?campaign=2&

You can follow @chalk4change2020 on Instagram for more info and future peaceful protests.