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On May 25th, 2025, five years after George Floyd was brutally murdered at the hands of Minneapolis police, the 6th annual West Island Take a Knee was held in Valois Park. Since taking a knee is most associated with drawing attention to racial inequality and police brutality in the United States, you might think an event like this has nothing to do with the average West Islander. But you’d be wrong.

Allison Saunders is a marketing and communications expert, vice-chair of the Lester B. Pearson School Board, a King Charles III Coronation Medal recipient, and founder of West Island Take a Knee. Saunders is making connections between people all across our community, and this year’s event focused on standing together as a community to confront what prevents our young people from feeling safe: racism, misogyny, hate, and indifference. She asked important questions and asked the crowd to reflect on them.

And I’m still doing that weeks later.

Saunders read out the names of three young Montreal men whose lives ended violently just in the last few months: Emmanuel Diafouka in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Makhai Bennett-Ruddock in Côte-des-Neiges, and Abisay Cruz in St-Michel. She then widened that circle of concern to include not only victims of violence in the streets but also those who must endure hate speech in schools, in public, and online. She mentioned the rise of antisemitism and the reality of Islamophobia, both present in the West Island, and how the two do not cancel one another out. I loved how Saunders made a point to include everyone who has experienced hate, felt unsafe, or who has seen neighbours or friends go through this.

Ted Rutland, a professor at Concordia University whose work focuses on urban security, policing, and racial justice, was invited to say a few words. He spoke about the community spaces created by citizens in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent police backlash. A champion of safe spaces, Rutland asked us to think about what’s needed to create spaces of love to meet each other’s needs, without violence. And to be able to use those spaces as a support, a base for when action is needed.

This made me think of how we used to live in the distant past: in small communities, where you knew all of your neighbours, and who to call if you needed help. How can we create that same sense of security today? Now, when few of us know our neighbours, a strange vehicle in front of our homes can seem like a threat.

Finally, Saunders thanked us for coming together as a community. She reminded us that in taking a knee together, despite our differences, we are united in our desire for justice for all our citizens. And her assertion, “Community is where change begins,” has been rattling around in my head for days. She doesn’t mean a community of strangers. She means a community where I know and care about you, and I want to make sure you are safe too. That’s the kind of community I want to live in. Do you feel that way too?