Demonstrators raise their voices for change

Protests, vigil seek racial justice

- ELI FORMAN and ANNE BERLEANT

BLUE HILL—The nationwide struggle for racial justice took a local cast on Thursday, June 4, when a group of students rallied on the Blue Hill Town Hall lawn.

Organized by siblings Philomena and Oskar Mattes of Deer Isle, the rally was planned to coincide with a silent vigil in honor of George Floyd, killed by police in Minneapolis, held at the Blue Hill Congregational Church later in the afternoon.

The Mattes siblings are currently home from their respective colleges and were looking for ways to show solidarity with the country-wide movement.

“People should see that it’s in their community,” said Mena Mattes.

Mattes, a religious studies major at The New School in New York City, said that as she watched many of her peers get involved, she “didn’t want to feel like I was doing nothing.”

For several hours, protesters held signs and waved at passing traffic, receiving honks of support from many drivers.

At the outset, the event attracted 30 or so people with more arriving as the afternoon continued.