The St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter has announced plans to disrupt the Twin Cities Marathon, scheduled to take place Sunday, October 4. In doing so, the organization hopes to draw attention to recent cases of what it alleges is police brutality.
The protesters hope to stop runners from finishing the marathon, said organizer Rashad Turner of Black Lives Matter St. Paul.
"Our plan is just to disrupt business as usual and try to create as much awareness as possible," Turner told Runner's World. "Our hopes are that when the marathon runners reach us at the finish line, instead of being more concerned with finishing the marathon, that they’ve been able to do some critical thinking throughout this week and understand how powerful it would be if we all stood together in solidarity against the injustices that are plaguing our society and plaguing the community right here in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Twin Cities Marathon officials released a statement on the event's website.
"We are working closely with city officials to ensure the safety of all participants, volunteers, and spectators,” the statement read. “City officials are advising on logistics and recommendations and we will share that with you as soon as it is available. We ask for your patience as we work on this, and want to reiterate that your safety is our highest priority."
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A spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department did not specify whether there would be more officers on duty during the marathon or additional fencing or barricades.
“There's always a well coordinated police presence at the Twin Cities Marathon,” said Steve Linders, the public information coordinator for the St. Paul Police Department. “I think there’s great concern among the runners, as there should be. People spend a great amount of time, energy, effort, and money to run, and it would be shame for that to be spoiled. We want to make sure this is a safe environment for all, while at the same time, making sure people have the chance to have their voices heard in a way that’s safe and lawful.”
The event’s 10-mile race, which will serve as the 2015 USA 10-Mile Championship, will begin at 7 a.m., while the marathon, which serves as the 2015 USA Masters Championship, is scheduled for 8 a.m. The point-to-point course runs from Minneapolis to St. Paul. This year, 11,473 runners have registered for the marathon.
Turner confirmed that the protest will begin at 10 a.m. in a park a couple blocks away from several access points in the course’s final mile. He says that the specifics of the plan will depend on what measures police and race officials put in place on the day of the event.
“I think they’re going to expect us to be on the sidelines," Turner said. "How far we get onto the course and at what point will sort of be dictated by the police response and things they do to adjust the course, or the different fencing or barricades that they put up. We will accomplish our mission of disruption, our mission of creating awareness, regardless of whatever plans are put in place by the St. Paul Police Department or Twin Cities Marathon officials."
Turner stresses that the protest is meant to be a peaceful one.
"We have no plans to incite any type of violence or to be physical with any of the marathon runners. We just plan to be the finish line."
Protest organizers hope to draw attention to four instances of alleged police brutality against African Americans that have taken place in the area this year, including two alleged assaults and the deaths of two men shot by police.
Turner said that he understands the hard work that goes into preparing for a race, but he doesn't see runners finishing the race and then going back to join in the protest as a suitable alternative to his group's planned actions at the marathon.
"I don’t think that us allowing them to finish the race would make them wake up enough," Turner said. "I think that life has to be disrupted. We understand the hard work that goes into it, but at the same time, when you compare that with the hard work that let’s say a Tamir Rice, who was killed before he even finished sixth grade, the hard work he had put in that just got cut short. If I’m a marathon runner, I’d much rather have my marathon not be finished than not be able to finish life because the police escalated things and killed people.”
Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old shot by police in Cleveland, Ohio.
Turner says Black Lives Matter St. Paul chose the Twin Cities Marathon as its venue solely because it attracts a large number of people who are able to distance themselves from many of the problems black people face on a daily basis. He notes that he has nothing against the marathon specifically.
“It’s not a protest of the Twin Cities Marathon, it’s just a protest at the Twin Cities Marathon.”
Turner said that his organization is not willing to negotiate with the police on this matter, but that he would be willing to speak to race officials.
“We definitely would be willing to talk with the Twin Cities Marathon officials," Turner said. "If they were to assist us in this fight, that could change the dynamics of what our protest looks like on Sunday...I think there’s a way we can collaborate to where possibly runners will still be able to finish the marathon.”
By Tuesday morning, 112 people had responded to a #BlackMarathon meetup announcement on Facebook saying they were planning to attend the protest at the marathon. Another 56 were listed as "maybe."
On September 20, the same group disrupted light rail service to the Minnesota Vikings game when protesters lay down along the tracks.
Linders said the police worked with Black Lives Matter St. Paul in advance of that protest, and to his knowledge, no one was hurt.
“We have a great tradition here at the St. Paul Police Department of working with people who want to rally, march, and make their voices heard,” Linders said. “We’ve worked with this group in past and they’ve been able to make their voices heard in a safe manner.”
