As the Assistant Director that oversees the Leadership Certificate Program and the Institute by LeaderShape, I have the privilege of meeting outstanding students - students who are actively working to affect change on campus, in their communities, and beyond. Students who engage in our programs seeking to better themselves and the world around them. I first met Paul Saban at the 2019 session of the Institute by LeaderShape. I recall the remarkable moment when his Cluster Family protested within one of the simulations about power and privilege. Since the Institute, I have met with Paul and we have had a series of stimulating conversations about leadership, sexism, racism, and other social justice topics. When Paul informed me that he was organizing a demonstration for Black Lives Matter in his hometown in Monticello, I decided that I would interview him about his experience following the demonstration. The demonstration was held in the main square of Monticello, Illinois on Saturday, June 6. Here is what Paul had to say…
Tell me a little about yourself and how you came to be involved in organizing the demonstration in Monticello this past Saturday.
So, I am a non-traditional student from the Monticello area - that’s where I graduated high school. I did go to elementary and middle school in Urbana. I floundered around after high school, went to Parkland Community College, and because I was floundering around, I joined the military. After the military I worked various jobs working on oil rigs and then for the railroad. Once I got furloughed, I went back to school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I had thought maybe Psychology because I knew I wanted to work with people and I knew I wanted to help people. It was the separation I perceived between Psychology and Sociology and the missing component of social justice that opened the door for me to Social Work, which is what my degree is in.
How we came about organizing the event this past Saturday was honestly a fluke - well I don’t want to say a fluke, but a week ago the co-organizer and I didn’t even know each other. The co-organizer (Ellie Carpenter) had put out a feeler on social media in certain groups asking community members of Monticello what their thoughts would be about holding something, anything, for George Floyd. She got a lot of backlash for it – it was within one of those groups where Ellie and I had a mutual friend. That mutual friend reached out and told me I had to meet Ellie – so I did. Honestly, we said we wished this was how every group project played out for school. The way we have synced up feels like we have known each other for a long time, but we haven’t. Ideologically we are on the same page and we are both very comfortable speaking for the other and understand what each one is trying to say. I should be clear, the co-organizer is Ellie Carpenter and she is in the College of LAS – this was absolutely a co-produced effort. I could not have done this without her.
Had you organized an event like this before?
Ellie and I had never been the lead organizers of anything - I don’t think we have come close to even the second, third, or fourth of any kind of command. I know at least in my capacity I have supported organizers, I have shown up to the events they have put on, like the protests we had this past Monday in Champaign which were organized by numerous groups. There were certainly parts of this event we wish we would have done differently, but we were learning it as we went. We were cold-calling people, like I just Googled WCIA and called the number that was listed. So yeah, I had no experience doing this kind of thing before, but I have a passion for and feel comfortable talking about the subject matter.
What were some of the challenges you and Ellie encountered in organizing the demonstration? What about on the day of?
You may or may not be aware, but once we announced the event and it was official that we were moving forward with it, we had a vowed civilian-armed counter protest on our hands. The obstacles were really just dealing with controlling the narrative, which is not something we could entirely do. There were a lot of rumors, a lot of which were based off of genuine concern and uneasiness from the community. But there were also rumors that we were ANTIFA coming in covert disguise to destroy Monticello, that we were the people that were responsible for what happened at the Marketplace Mall in Champaign, that we were trying to establish a communist system within Monticello – a lot of creative accusations. And then other people were concerned about how it just takes one bad actor to start something and it is like a domino effect. That was the hardest part – addressing those concerns.
We have had it said too many times that I don’t know if it is my feeling or if it is because I have heard it so much, but my first conversation with Ellie was that given the climate of a small town like Monticello, we both agreed that we had to involve law enforcement from the beginning. I thought we should be extremely transparent with law enforcement and anyone else curious as to why we were doing something like this in a small town. So that was our goal, to have them involved in the process and never put them in a position where they were just reacting to the demonstration. Ellie fielded most of the conversations and inquiries from law enforcement. Right off the bat they asked what our plan was if there was violence or unrest, and we didn’t have a plan - that’s what we were looking to them for. They were pretty relieved to hear that and that sort of tipped the hand, like maybe they didn’t expect us to cooperate with them in that capacity.
On the day of we did have Monticello police present, the sheriff’s department and state police present. They shut down every street surrounding the main square so at every point where we had to turn for our marching route (Ellie and I were at the beginning of the march) I just made sure I thanked every officer that was there to let them know we appreciated their presence. And as soon as we got there the morning of the demonstration, I introduced myself to any person with a badge I didn’t recognize and told them that before we introduce the speakers we will be doing some house-keeping items and I will acknowledge your presence and thank you for your cooperation in planning this demonstration. Because truthfully it was a pleasant experience, we didn’t have any pushback from law enforcement. It took a lot of edge off for folks that didn’t know what to expect from the crowd and it also bridged people who don’t necessarily know where they stand on police brutality or anything that falls under the umbrella on Black Lives Matter, but they do know where they stand with law enforcement. It allowed some folks to hold two things at once so they didn’t feel like they had to give one up for the other.
Another challenge was trying to get support from local businesses. We weren’t asking for donations or anything, and donations have also been a challenge, but we were asking if we could put up posters or flyers. It genuinely felt like folks were concerned about what that would have incurred for the business. Prior to that, neither we nor the businesses thought we were going to get the turn out that we got. We do want to acknowledge that Hartfield Book Company put up a sign and even issued a statement a few days before the demonstration that they would be closed the day of because they were participating in it. In fact, they had already had their anti-racist selections up in the store prior to the initiation of the planning process. Also, the Mexican restaurant, Las Marias, assisted a woman with heat exhaustion by bringing her inside to the air condition. From the beginning they had been bringing out bins with ice and water for everyone at the demonstration. And its my understanding that they are a minority-owned local business.
Anything you wish you had done differently?
Because we were learning it as we went, there were plenty of things. I think there’s no way we could have anticipated how much support we got – but we could have had more foresight about donations. At least opening up an avenue for people who wanted to donate. We had people from all over the country who were Monticello grads who said I think this is awesome, I can’t be there, but I want to donate money. We had alums watching our live feed from China and also Brazil. Because we hadn’t thought it through, we couldn’t ethically take their money. And that’s something we are still working on – how to capitalize on people who are still excited about this event. Because we feel like if we are considered accomplices and co-conspirators, we missed a window where we could have funneled funds to endeavors such as the bailout program. But we did the best we could with what we knew at the time. On Monday, Ellie and I didn’t know each other, on Tuesday night we were linked together over social media and we met, on Wednesday we talked to the police and announced the demonstration, and on Saturday we led the demonstration. The way things worked out, it feels like things just landed in a very neat and tidy place.
That said, we did have some pushback the day of the event - there were people trying to play the Battle Hymn of the Republic which is something that people who ride for the Confederacy tried to play that during Melina Thompson’s speech. We were able to find a natural pause in her speech and I addressed the crowd. I said, I know you’ve been out here in the sun for a long time and you can start to hear detractors over there and I want to give you the opportunity to respond. And I thought I would have a half-hearted response, and no, the first response to our call was right on. By the last call, I could hear the echoes off the grain elevator, and I got goosebumps. And I highly suggest everyone to listen to Melina’s speech. And we found Melina by making ourselves available and she found us. We made it known that we wanted to center minority voices and any of the black population in Monticello. We didn’t go to anyone with an ask, and that could have been a fault on our part, but we put it out there publicly that we were looking for speakers and what our priorities were. And Melina reached out. We did tell potential speakers that we wanted their messaging to fall within the framework for why we were holding the demonstration, otherwise we couldn’t give them their platform.
The only other thing I wanted to make sure we highlight was something I addressed at the beginning before we introduced the speakers, but I feel like I could have done a better job highlighting it. We were demonstrating for all Black lives, not just Black men, but Black women and Black trans individuals:
- George Floyd
- Breonna Taylor
- Tony Mcdade
- Ahmaud Arbery
We acknowledged their lives before starting the demonstration and were unambiguous that we were gathered for all Black lives. We also acknowledged that it was Pride month and we weren’t there just for cis- or het- individuals.
What do you hope the impact of the demonstration will be on the community in Monticello?
If we were a little more experienced, we would have tangible action items but we don’t. We know that if we can maintain the support that we’ve seen so far through social media, we can use that as a platform to then reach out local leadership within the school district, businesses, and representatives of Piatt County. Hopefully we can flip some of the issues that those representatives are lobbying for. We absolutely to keep this conversation going moving forward and in structured ways. Whether it is hosting dialogues at the library in Monticello, partnering with educational and extra-curricular programs, just doing something with any type of leadership that we can to address some of these issues.
How do you connect this experience to your experiences at the ILC?
So as a participant of the ILC Certificate Program and the Institute, and through the i-Programs I have participated in (Inclusion and Integrity), I’ve tried to capitalize on opportunities to push difficult conversations around race, privilege, inequities, and exploitation. A concrete example of how I’ve done this was at The Institute retreat. I believe the game was called “star power” where we organized participants into the fictional lower class by making trades, and our group was planning on snatching the fake money from the bank everyone was contributing to at the end of each round. We were making a statement about how capitalism when unchecked often exploits those most vulnerable, e.g. the rules that the upper class were making for us in that game – and that we weren’t going to actively or passively participate in something that models hierarchies of “power over” rather than “power with.” I’ve also had some great opportunities to collaborate with other Illinois students across campus and challenge the way we’re currently interacting with systems and institutions thanks to the ILC.
Anything else you’d like to share?
We weren’t there to wag our finger or pontificate or get on a moral high horse for people in the community. We do love Monticello, and we do care about the community, and it is a unique place. And we want to bring out the best parts of that community. We really feel like this has the potential of being the icebreaker of change that otherwise wouldn’t happen.
