[SEATTLETIMES] First came the warning: A police officer in the small city of Selah told a group of young people that if they continued drawing "Black Lives Matter" chalk art on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, they would be charged with a crime.Then came the pressure washer.
As the 10 protesters covered parts of their artwork with their bodies, a city worker walked between them, spraying away the exposed parts of their messages and sending tubs of chalk tumbling into the street. The young activists, wet from the washing, watched in silence and held up signs that were outside the reach of the pressure washer.
"Hate has no home in Selah," one of them said.
The standoff last week was just one of a growing series of conflicts between conservative leaders of Selah, a community with only a few dozen Black residents, and young people from a wide range of backgrounds who believe the city is long overdue for a conversation about race.
As Black Lives Matter events spread from urban centers to thousands of smaller communities around the country, town officials who saw little reason to explore percolating racial prejudices are finding themselves confronted by residents who have decided it is time to step forward.
|