On a recent Wednesday afternoon in “Freedom Square,” pedestrians take refuge from the scorching heat in a hospitality tent stocked with campaign petitions, snacks, and a cooler of bottled water. A few kids dabble in watercolor painting, while adults empty trash and slice meat and vegetables for grilling. Curious community members approach to ask what has compelled these activists to brave the summer elements as long as they have.
Colón and her brother, Damon Williams, drew inspiration for Freedom Square and their collective from the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. They traveled to Ferguson two years ago this month (a journey detailed in the Reader‘s April 7 cover story, “Daughters of the Revolution“) and watched as the Ferguson group Lost Voices vowed to occupy a protest area near Ferguson police department headquarters until officer Darren Wilson was arrested for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. Colón and Williams dedicated crowdsourced funds to ensuring that the camp remained livable and sustainable. On the 47th day, police officers forcibly ended the occupation. (A grand jury chose not to indict Wilson for the shooting.)
But on the night of the march, children from the neighborhood suggested another use for the tents.
Ferguson activists have also stuck around to help.
