Chatting & Chalking with Keene Police

Yesterday was “Chalk The Police Day” an event put on by my friends at CopBlock.org. Activists from around the country went out to write and draw various messages relating to police accountability with chalk. The event dates back to 2011, where the “Chalking 8” were arrested in Manchester, New Hampshire on graffiti and criminal mischief charges. Since then, it has spawned an annual and national event that has become quite popular.

I NEED TO FIX BROKEN IMAGE AND VIDEO LINKS REMIND ME IF YOU SEE THIS AFTER APRIL 2024

Kelly Patterson of Nevada Cop Block has an excellent post about chalking in general, and the event itself.

See more chalk activism under the hashtag #ChalkThePolice.

Here in Keene, activists went to Central Square, a local public gathering space with a gazebo, the State Police Barracks, and the Keene Police department, where I joined in the festivities with Ian Freeman and JP Freeman.

As you can see in the video below, before we began chalking, we invited the Keene Police to join us. The woman at the desk said she would ask if anybody felt like it, and we went outside to begin.