KINGSTON – Their rallies are commonly conducted a few blocks away at Academy Green Park, but Sunday Rise Up Kingston took its angst to the front door of lawmakers at the Ulster County office building in the city’s historic Uptown district.
“We do this because of the continuous killing of black people in America by the police. I definitely think we are being heard,” said Lisa Royer, an organizer for Rise Up Kingston.
“Until we create another system for safety, until we look at public safety different, we don’t need the police for public safety. We need our communities to be funded. We need resources so that people don’t resort to violence for things that they need,” she said.
The protests, which include speeches and marches, are conducted every two weeks in the warmer months, and once a month in the winter.
And based on the recent actions by the police using deadly force, coinciding with civilians committing mass killings, Royer expects another summer of roil as a sense the economic disparity pushes many to the brink.
