Black Lives Matter comes to Kasson

The first Black Lives Matter protest in Dodge County was impromptu and slowly added more and more protestors until there was a small group protesting the unequal treatment of African Americans on Friday, June 5.
The protest was started by a teenage Caucasian girl, rising K-M freshman Mikaila Blewett, who made two signs and stood on the side of the road just before the traffic lights at the intersection of North Mantorville Avenue and Main Street.
“I just felt bad that there was no one else doing anything in Kasson,” she said.
So she decided to start her own protest and was the only one holding a sign for a couple hours until a few others joined her in the mid-afternoon. By the time rush hour hit there were seven protestors making their voices heard.
Blewett said she and her fellow protestors have received a wide array of reactions, including donations of water, honking and people saying “All Lives Matter.”
While she understands that last sentiment, she said, “All lives don’t matter until black lives matter.”
Like Blewett, fellow Kasson resident Sean Richardson agrees with those who say all lives matter.
“I believe that too. Everybody matters, but it’s not happening to [African Americans] and it’s been going on for too long,” he said.
Wanting to do something about that injustice and seeing her protesting alone pushed him to join the protest.
“I’ve been motivated already, but when I saw her, that first person to take a stand is all it takes,” Richardson said. “Somebody’s got to take a stand.”
He also wanted to help spread awareness.
“This is our world, we got to live together. We all bleed red, no matter what’s on the outside,” he said. “We just need to get along. Why can’t we?”
He mentioned that the public’s reaction to the protest has been predominantly positive.
“I had a lady just ran up to me and shake my hand. I’d never felt something like that. It opened my heart,” he said.
Opening their heart and being kind is what he hopes the whole Kasson community can do moving forward.
A more kind and inclusive community is something that protestor Shauna Otterness wants for her biracial children.
“They face a lot of racism in this town and so do a lot of other people who are too afraid to speak up. I think it’s important as white Americans that we have the backs of any person of color in our town,” she said.
While all the seven of the protestors want better treatment of African Americans, the hope is someday they won’t have to protest for it to happen.