POUGHKEEPSIE – Women and girls are just as impacted by police killings as men and boys are, according to students at a “Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson” rally in Poughkeepsie on Thursday.
Naomi Spencer of Oakland, California is a junior at Vassar College and she was one of the organizers of the action on Main Street.
“Too often men and boys are centered. For example, the uprisings in Baltimore were spurred by the death of Freddy Gray even though Maya Hall, a trans-woman, died weeks before,” Naomi Spencer said. “So we wanted to actually center black women and girls in our fight today.”
Yasani Spencer of New Haven, Connecticut, is a sophomore at Vassar. She has been involved in other rallies to call attention to police killings.
“To me it meant a lot to be able to have a day to talk about and recognize the black women who have fallen due to police violence and have been affected by police violence at all,” Yassani Spencer said.
Close to 100 people, mostly students, took part in the protest.
