Ahead of an anti-racism protest scheduled for this Saturday, the Black Luck Collective is asking those interested in attending to think about their own participation.

The Black Luck Collective is a local Kingston organization that aims to bring Black Kingstonians together and unite the Black community within the City. The Collective organized the June 2 vigil in support of Black Lives Matter and to take up physical space to grieve for victims of racialized violence. 

“Over the last couple of days we have received many messages of concern and questions about the ‘Justice for George Floyd & All Police Racism Victims’ event circulating on Facebook,” the Black Luck Collective wrote in a June 4 post on Facebook. “We appreciate the fervent energy and the desire to mobilize in support of anti-racism.”

According to a Facebook post by Queen’s Rector Sam Hiemstra, the organizer of the event had informed the police about the protest.

The organizer of the protest did not respond to The Journal’s request for comment in time for publication. 

The Black Luck Collective also clarified it hasn’t been involved in the planning and execution of the event, which is scheduled for June 6 at noon in Confederation Park.        

“We recognize that we cannot dictate what people do or don’t do, but it is our opinion that not enough thought or care has gone into the organization of the march on Saturday,” the Black Luck Collective wrote. “It takes more than good intentions to execute important changes to complex systems.”

The Black Luck Collective stated it won’t be attending the protest and asked individuals interested in attending to “carefully” consider their own participation. 

While members of the community have expressed concerns over the organization of the event and the potential of a police presence, one of the organizers stated in a post to the event page on Facebook that police “will not be participating or addressing the public in any way.”