My Experience At George Floyd’s Boise Vigil

Last night, in front of the Capitol building in Downtown Boise, the candlelight vigil for George Floyd was held. This was my experience.

The last week or so has been particularly tumultuous in this country between the pandemic and the protests and riots. Last night was the ultimate demonstration of peace, love, and calm here in Boise.

My fiance mentioned that the vigil was happening at 8:30 at the capitol building and asked if I'd like to go and I said, "let's do it." We showed up at about 8:00 and were looking for a seat on the steps near the capitol, someone saw us looking all over for a place to sit and invited us to sit next to them.

Over the next twenty minutes or so, the whole area filled with people who were there to show support for George Floyd and racial injustice. The hosts of the event did an incredible job setting the stage for what this event was meant to be; not a protest, not a riot, but a vigil, and a time to reflect upon the reality of the racial injustice that takes place in this country.

There was an amazing story shared by a young woman that really brought you into the world of what it's like to be black in America - from being taught by your parents at a young age how to deal with police, to illustrating the moment someone's life was taken away at the hands of police. It really was moving and I really felt like I gained something incredible by listening. In my opinion, it's really important to try and understand someone else's experience before simply dismissing them and this night was huge for anyone who was there in understanding how different life is for Black Americans.

There were Boise police at the event out talking with people and there was not one moment where anyone would have felt unsafe or unwelcome. Thousands of people were on hand to show support, it was just a beautiful night, and I'm proud to stand with my black friends and fellow Americans as an ally.