Following protests in Williamstown and North Adams Friday evening, hundreds gathered in Great Barrington Saturday afternoon for an NAACP sponsored Black Lives Matter rally.
Politicians like Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington and State Senator Adam Hinds spoke alongside community members of color like Ari Zorn, who asked white attendees to continue the work after the rally.
“When you leave here in two weeks, or when this stuff slowly fades and that little norm, the norm of racism – and you go back to your lives – are you going to join the NAACP and become a member?" he asked the crowd from the steps of the town hall. "What are you going to do?”
A march shut down the town’s main thoroughfare, Route 7, and a smaller crowd later protested in front of the police station after the main gathering dispersed. Law enforcement agencies from around Southern Berkshire County as well as the Massachusetts State Police were on the scene. The event remained peaceful.
