BLUE ASH, Ohio — More than 500 protested in the suburbs Thursday evening, attending a Blue Ash Black Lives Matter protest as a car and bike caravan brought in hundreds of people.
For Kimberly Reese, each car and each person carrying signs represents hope.
“It speaks volumes,” the protest’s organizer said. “They say, ‘Hey, we don’t know what to do. Can you show us what to do? We want to continue the narrative. We want to change the narrative. How can we get this going?’”
Reese said the fancy cars and signs are great for the rally in support of protecting black lives — but it’s about more than the motions.
“This was not a ‘kumbaya moment,’ no. We have work to do. I told them, I said, ‘We have to roll our sleeves up, and let’s get busy.’ It’s going to take everyone for this to change,” she said.
She said that work began at the Blue Ash Amphitheater, where more than 500 gathered for a show of solidarity, including Anthony Farby. For him, the protest is a sign of hope.
“To see there’s different ages, different races, anything you could classify a person as, you saw it here today. It didn’t matter. Nothing made a difference,” he said.
He said he wants his 2-year-old daughter, Aurora, and 5-year-old Carter to grow up in a world that’s better together.
“That’s what I hope for these two. That’s why I brought them tonight. So they can see people from different walks of life come together,” Farby said. “They can understand if they can unite together; we can stand together. And never fall.”
Reese, a mother of five herself, hopes coming together will mean a better future for her kids.
“Looking out there at that crowd, looking at the people doing things to make a change, I’m encouraged. That my boys will be okay, that eventually we’ll be okay,” she said.
