Testimony on Why Blocking Traffic in a Protest is Effective
By: NWL-Gainesville Steering Committee Member
On August 21, 2021, I joined a protest at the Alachua County Jail. This protest was organized because Alachua County Sheriffs forced Erica Thompson (a.k.a Heaven), a Woman of Color to give birth alone in a jail cell and refused her medical treatment- which led to the death of her baby– after she was arrested while having contractions
The protest was led by Goddsville Dream Defenders, Florida Prisoner Solidarity, and Dignity Power, Inc. NWL encouraged NWL activists to attend in solidarity. Activists gathered a short distance from the entrance to the jail and marched to the entrance. The entrance, normally open for traffic, was blocked with barricades and police. Shortly after reaching the entrance, protestors moved into the road in front of the jail and blocked traffic. I only stayed in the road for a bit; I was nervous and I moved with a number of other protesters to a nearby sidewalk. However, many protestors remained in the road, blocking traffic from both directions. As I watched the angry motorists, I questioned the effectiveness of blocking traffic as an activist tool. People were obscenely angry about not being able to pass – yelling at and driving their cars dangerously close to the protesters . It didn’t seem like the drivers cared about Heaven and her baby, and we weren’t convincing them that they should. But, as I stood there, I began to understand how blocking traffic is a powerful activist tool. Blocking traffic isn’t about changing the minds of the individual drivers. Blocking traffic called needed attention to the actions of the Alachua County Sheriffs. It showed those in power that activists hold them accountable for their actions – actions that included denying Heaven care, ignoring her calls for help, and refusing her and her baby medical care.
The Dream Defenders continue to demand justice for Heaven and Ava. They demand that Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson: (1) Give a public, formal apology, and require the same from all the involved parties under his purview (2) Publicly release full, uncut infirmary and jail footage relating to Erica Thompson from August 9, 2021(3) End the contract that the Alachua County Jail currently has with Corizon Health. You can sign their petition here.