Dramar Felton sees Last Chance for Change as a resurrection. 

The organizers, who have marched through Syracuse for 17 days to protest police brutality, carry with them all the activists who came before and stood in pain and suffering, Felton said. 

The “leaders of the past,” as Felton described the group, have continued to strive for change. Since first marching over two weeks ago, organizers have begun to see their demands met. The movement has reached all corners of the city — from Strathmore, near the Southside, to Pond Street in the Northside — and has worked to gain trust and momentum. 

“We’re going to make sure the world is changed through Syracuse, New York,” Felton said.

Last Chance for Change is one of hundreds of movements that has formed across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s alleged murder by Minneapolis police. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd, a Black man, after kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. 

Organizers on Friday issued nine demands alongside 13 local advocacy groups to reform the Syracuse Police Department. The demands, presented to Mayor Ben Walsh and the Common Council, call for the city to demilitarize its police force and pull school resource officers out of the Syracuse City School District.

But from the movement’s earliest days, Last Chance for Change rallied for one reform: the repeal of New York Civil Rights Law 50-a, which prevented the release of police officers’ disciplinary records. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation repealing the law on Friday. 

The repeal of 50-a energized the movement, protester Katianna Gunn said. 

“It made us understand that we are making a change,” Gunn said. “It’s not something that’s coming, it’s something that’s happening.”

Last Chance for Change now has a wide array of people listening to its demands, organizer Hasahn Bloodworth said. 

Protesters call Bloodworth “the voice.” During the marches, he leads the crowd in chants of “no justice, no peace,” and “hands up, don’t shoot” with a gravely roar.

Though the movement has pledged to march in the city for 40 days, protesters aren’t guaranteeing that the marches will end on July 8. If all of Last Chance for Change’s demands and goals are met, the group will determine whether to end the demonstrations, Bloodworth said. 

Stacey Bailey, an organizer with Last Chance for Change, addresses the crowd ahead of a march. Emma Folts | Managing Editor

As the protest continues for at least another two weeks, organizers want to see the community’s youngest members afforded a better chance to succeed in life, Bloodworth said. The group aims to help those who lack mentors and places to turn to. 

“All our community centers are shut down. We’re going through this pandemic within a pandemic,” Bloodworth said. “Right now the city is set up for (young people) to fail. We want to set it up so they can succeed.” 

The city needs to hear the organizers’ voices and meet the movement’s demands to address police brutality, Bloodworth said. Reforming the police system requires the protesters to be involved, he said.

“This is our community,” he said.

The community has accepted Last Chance for Change since the march began, said Stacey Bailey, an organizer. 

By crisscrossing Syracuse, organizers are working to ensure every part of the city knows the group is there for them. They’re beginning to build trust among residents, furthering the movement’s momentum, she said.

“We know that there’s violence out here and we know that we can’t stop the violence,” Bailey said. “What we can do is give them the courage to know that, if they know something, they can say something, and if something happens to them, they can come to us and we can try to make it right.”

People have called the organizers “radicals” because of their approach, Bailey said, referencing the group’s chants of “abuse your power, we’ll take it away.’’ But the protesters just want to help make the city more progressive, she said.

Last Chance for Change is about uplifting the Syracuse community, Gunn said. Throughout the protest, she’s witnessed the joy and drive the organizers share. She’s also seen the movement gain followers as protesters bring family members to the march.

Jeffry Mateo began marching with Last Chance for Change on its second day of demonstrations. Though not one of the movement’s original leaders, he’s been adopted into the group. As organizers marched toward the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse on Friday, Mateo joined several leaders at the front. 

The movement’s progress and momentum have amazed Mateo. Residents keep coming to the marches and bringing others along, he said. 

Last Chance for Change is different from other protests in its energy and consistency, organizer Curtis Chaplin said. 

“I’m not going to stop, and I know (the other organizers are) not going to stop,” Chaplin said. “Everyone over here holds each other accountable.” 

The movement is first addressing police brutality, but it’s also seeking accountability from all officials and organizations, he said. The organizers want to see change in the city, and Chaplin knows it’s possible.

Organizers have pledged to march in the city for 40 days, but may continue the demonstrations if the movement’s demands and goals are not met. Emma Folts | Managing Editor

For protester Shalisia Jackson, Last Chance for Change must show the community that it’s putting forth action. 

“The goal is always to change the world, we all want to live in a benevolent society,” Jackson said. “I think that’s the oneness that (Last Chance for Change) would like to get to, which is far-fetched but it’s not impossible.”

Bloodworth hopes Last Chance for Change is around for a long time. He wants the organizers to make a difference among young people in the community. He’d like others to say the movement stood up against police brutality and helped repeal 50-a. 

Gunn wants the movement’s legacy to be rooted in love. For Chaplin, the movement’s legacy can’t be determined. Last Chance for Change is bigger than them. To put its legacy into words is to minimize what could be achieved, he said. 

There’s always hope, and people should never give up, Bailey said, standing with Felton in the parking lot of the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central. Organizers meet outside the school before and after each march.

“The things that we change are going to make the younger ones know that no matter what, you never give up,” Bailey said. “Never give up your rights.”

“That’s it, right there. She almost made me cry when she was saying that,” Felton said. “Never give up hope.”

Published on June 16, 2020 at 1:16 am

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu