The Ravens couldn’t stop the Patriots. But the ravers stopped the Patriots fans–if for only a few minutes.
A protest organized by Black Lives Matter Boston briefly blocked an MBTA commuter rail train en route to Gillette Stadium on Saturday. Protestors allegedly delayed the train, picking up Patriots fans at a stop in Dedham, by jumping on the tracks with a banner saying “white silence = violence.”
A statement released by the group explained, “The train was delayed for four and half minutes to represent the four and half hours Michael Brown’s body was left lying in the street; this span of time has become symbolic within the movement. Protestors quietly replicated the sound of a beating heart during that time.”
The MBTA says the train experienced no delays, and the fans arrived in time to for the Patriots to enter the field to “Crazy Train”–blaring quite a bit louder than the quiet imitations of a beating heart described by the demonstrators–as they always do. Transit police made no arrests.
“At this game many white fans will cheer and celebrate Black athletes in the stadium while ignoring the racism Black people face in daily life,” Black Lives Matter Boston contended in a statement. “The AFC Division Playoff Game required us to insist that Black lives matter all the time, everywhere, on and off the field.”
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