by Jessica Lane

July 28, 2017

Photo by Google

“There was no singing, no chanting — just silence,” read the statement published by Google this morning.

Today, Google celebrates our legacy and the 100th Anniversary of the Silent Parade. On this day, July 28, 1917, almost 10,000 Black women, men and children marched their way down New York’s Fifth Avenue and didn’t stop until they reached Madison Square.

Can I just say how much I LOVE Black Google Doodle days!  Something about the whole tech world – read mostly white folks – being forced to celebrate our magnificent stories, it just makes my day a little bit brighter. Now, back to our history…

Thanks for celebrating with us @Google! Centennial of #NAACP Silent Protest Parade July 28, 1917 🇺🇸#GoogleDoodle#ATT #HumanityOfConnection pic.twitter.com/1PkH6A8FCx

— NAACP (@NAACP) July 28, 2017

It became one of the first huge protests of lynching and other brutal acts of violence against Black people. What brought on this epic march? We had enough. Earlier that month in East St. Louis, between 40 and 250 Black people were killed and thousands lost everything as white mobs ripped their community apart.

The Silent Parade was organized by the NAACP, including #BlackExcellence legends James Weldon Johnson and W.E.B Du Bois. They demanded President Woodrow Wilson create and enact laws to protect us and “make America safe for democracy.” This was a direct jab at the President’s promise to bring democracy to the world through World War I. How do we concern ourselves with democracy abroad, when it’s own citizen were robbed of democratic rights, right here in America? Unfortunately, it sounds all too familiar!

Take a moment to remember our story and our impact with these pics below:

A silent march to protest the police treatment of blacks during riots in East St. Louis, New York, New York, 1917. They marched down Fifth Avenue on that summer Saturday without saying a word. They chanted no chants, sang no protest songs. The only sounds were the disconcertingly mournful thuds of muffled drums and, of course, the marchers’ footsteps on the hot pavement. It was a parade of silent protest.

It’s been one hundred years since the @NAACP Silent Parade, & we still march to protest anti-black violence to this day. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/NDNf7mdFCj

— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) July 28, 2017

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the #SilentParade. The Silent Parade was a silent protest march of between 8,000 and 10,000………… pic.twitter.com/5FwhNTOMIy

— eerahsaihsA👑💋💅 (@Ashia_Sharee) July 28, 2017

TELL US: Did you know about the Silent Parade?

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Black Lives That Should’ve Mattered

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Black Lives That Should’ve Mattered

1. Breonna Taylor

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2. George Floyd

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3. Atatiana Jefferson

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4. Ahmaud Arbery

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5. Philando Castile

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6. John Crawford III

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7. Oscar Grant

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8. Tamir Rice

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9. Michael Brown

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10. Eric Garner

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11. Sandra Bland

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12. Philando Castile

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13. Trayvon Martin

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14. Tony Robinson

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15. Freddie Gray

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TV One Continue reading #BlackExcellence: Google Celebrates Our Story, the 100th Anniversary of the Silent Parade

Black Lives That Should’ve Mattered

The #BlackLivesMatter movement has been a defining moment in history, reinforcing that Black people are actually people that deserve respect and deserve to live.

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