Event In Joliet Ended With Kneeling

JOLIET, IL —As students Laura Sullivan and Madison Sullivan read the names of black people who have been killed by police, people lined up with printed photos including George Floyd, Briona Taylor, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland. At the end of the reading of names, everyone, those in attendance and those standing holding photos, were asked to kneel.

The Sullivan sisters, from Naperville, were part of the Joliet Unity Discussions: Fighting Racism & Empowering Our Community. The event, which was held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Joliet, was organized by Jiyoon Chung and Meghan McConellogue.

“Initially this was kind of my idea and I recently moved to (the) Crest Hill/Joliet area, but my boyfriend and his family have all lived here a long time,” Chung said. “I wanted to focus the growth here and the issues here.”

Chung admitted she has not always been an activist.

“I guess I accidentally, well, purposely, became an activist overnight,” she said. “After George Floyd’s death, I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

The event on Sunday took place in the Joliet soccer fields along Infantry Drive. Attendees heard speeches from a number of speakers including Ernest Crim and Pastor Warren Dorris. There were booths available to register to vote as well as to buy art and accessories. The event concluded with music from DJ Sunryse.

"I know what we're doing right here, right now has never been done before and I know it's not gonna end here," Crim said. "For the first time in history, it is not popular to be racist."

Dorris wanted those in attendance, who were spread out on blankets and lawn chairs in the soccer fields behind Inwood Athletic Center, to be encouraged.

"This moment says that things must change," he said. "Don't stop marching. The system wants you to stop. We keep on marching until victory is won."

Although the event Sunday was the first one for Joliet Unity Discussions, Chung said she is planning for additional social justice work.

“The reason we wanted to have that group (name) is for accountability, I don’t want it to just be that event and then people forget about it,” she said.

You can find and follow Joliet Unity Discussions on Facebook.