African-American men marched united on the streets of Syracuse Saturday for the Suited Up for Solidarity march, organized by Black Men United and Interfaith Works. The march was intended to empower black men and boys, and change the stigma of black men in the eyes of the community.
“I saw a need in the community that that wasn't being filled,” said JahQuan Bey-Wright, the founder of Black Men United and the organizer of the march. “And I wanted us to fill the void in the community. There's a lot of anger around police brutality in today's time, but people forgot about the crimes that's going on in our own neighborhoods, they forgot about the stop the violence movements. And I wanted to readdress those issues.”
The march began at City Hall and moved through downtown, leading to the southern portion of the city down South Salina Street before turning back around and ending back downtown on the courthouse steps. A number of attendees symbolically wore suits and ties in an attempt to change a narrative they believe has been long prevalent about black men throughout history.
“We are not recognized or viewed correctly in the public eye,” said attendee Dauris Little. “There's this stigma that is portrayed from the hip-hop community, as well as the obvious negative light that we get on a regular basis that we're not taking care of our kids, that we're not financially stable, that we're not financially literate.”
Speeches were given by several prominent community figures on the courthouse steps following the march. Mayor Ben Walsh was originally scheduled to speak, but was forced to pull out after having to quarantine after a potential COVID-19 exposure. Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens was among the speakers, and gave a powerful ode to black men from the perspective of women.
“We cannot raise our children at our best without you,” she said. “We cannot advance our careers and our best without you. We cannot speak truth when we're the only ones in the row unless we can call on you. There is nothing more powerful on the face of the earth than a brother.”
The theme of the march was not just the outside perception of black men, but the internal perception as well. The call for black men to have confidence in themselves was reiterated by Common Council at-large member Khalid Bey, who also delivered remarks at the courthouse steps.
“We're not concerned about anyone else's narrative, Bey said. “We’re talking about what the black man thinks about the black man. Let's be clear. We're not concerned about anybody else's judgment. We are reassessing how we judge ourselves.”
“You determine your value. Your sons determine their value. Your mothers, your sisters and wives determine their value," Bey told the crowd. "Nobody has the right to tell anybody they don't belong here. Nobody has a right to challenge your life, or whether you belong here. Not any specific group, not any specific ethnic group, not any person, any man, any woman, any gang member, any law enforcement officer, nobody has the right to determine whether you should be here or not.”
The group made demands to the city, state, and federal government to recognize the worth of minority communities. In the end, though, the marchers’ main goal was for others to view black men as fellow marcher Jarvis Richardson sees them.
“A black man is dominance. Supreme. Most high. Original. Melanated. It’s everything in one.”
