The protest along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway briefly turned into a wedding party Saturday afternoon, as Kerry Anne and Michael Gordon joined the march on their wedding day.
📸 by Tyger Williams
More: https://t.co/e5OOycnmrS pic.twitter.com/LXWznCiyh8
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) June 6, 2020
There were enormous protests all over America and the world this weekend, 45’s Babygate has been converted to a memorial wall and covered with Black Lives Matter signs,the National Guard has been ordered to vacate Washington, DC while New York, Atlanta and Chicago have lifted their draconian curfews. Plus even small notoriously racist towns held protests this week. While this does not meant the work is even close to being over, it does feel like things are changing and like the world is coming together, in the the midst of a pandemic, to stand on the correct side. So what better way to celebrate a wedding than by attending a protest? A couple in Philadelphia, Dr. Kerry-Anne and Michael Gordon, went forward with plans for their small wedding in Philadelphia on Saturday. After they were married at the Logan hotel they stepped out into the crowd and everyone of course went wild. It wasn’t their plan to attend the protest, but they embraced it on their wedding day.
Kerry-Anne and Michael Gordon began their small wedding ceremony outdoors just as thousands descended upon the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to protest police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
They had known the protest was happening, but decided to keep their date. They had already postponed their larger wedding party to 2021 over the novel coronavirus pandemic and wanted to be married.
And while they hadn’t actually expected to be in the midst of the masses, they were glad they were.
“It ended up being a very powerful moment,” Kerry-Anne Gordon, 35, told ABC News. “Not only are we feeling the movement of the people … but I’m meeting my husband, on our wedding day, as a strong black man and a good representative of who we are as people, what our men are like, what our culture is like. It was just a very, very empowering moment for us considering all of this is happening at one moment in one time…”
Michael Gordon, 42, said the issues at hand have been in place well before Floyd’s death. For both of them — Kerry-Anne Gordon, who was born in Jamaica, and Michael Gordon, who is of Caribbean descent — they’ve felt it on a personal level. Seeing multiple races at the protest made the day “more memorable.”
“We all see this injustice. We all want to see this needle shift away from the status quo and … that made this day more memorable in ways,” Michael Gordon said.
He described Saturday’s protest as entirely peaceful, a message he was glad to amplify through the wedding photos that circulated online of them amidst protesters.
“That’s what the entire event out there was about. Of course there was police and National Guard, but it was a peaceful protest. Everyone was so nice,” Gordon said. “That in itself showed what the movement can be and for us to be a part of that, it’s a positive thing.”
That was a beautiful message, and what an amazing and memorable wedding day! I love this story and these photos and videos. Congratulations to the Gordons!
"It ended up being a very powerful moment."
Kerry-Anne and Michael Gordon began their small wedding ceremony outdoors just as thousands descended upon the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to protest police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death.https://t.co/kOeNwmzO4a pic.twitter.com/zMjd8sJxh8
— ABC News (@ABC) June 7, 2020
I just witnessed a wedding party at the protest in Philadelphia and I am crying it’s so beautiful. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/TMyXTpDedG
— remix skylar (@flex_apro) June 6, 2020
A marriage took place just now at a protest in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/mDHW0XmRJy
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) June 6, 2020
There’s a small wedding happening right by the Parkway and the crowd stopped to cheer for the bride and groom. They then joined with the protests. pic.twitter.com/utDwaVif3N
— TheShlembear (@TheShlembear) June 6, 2020
They weren’t the only newly married couple to join a protest!
I snapped this pic of a cool moment during the Saturday protest in Findlay when protesters paused for a picture with a newlywed couple who were taking some post-wedding pics in downtown. pic.twitter.com/hXidyxjOuN
— matt demczyk (@mdemczyk) June 7, 2020
Interracial couple cheered on as they visit Black Lives Matter protest after wedding https://t.co/EZus7PhpGW #interracial pic.twitter.com/LxKv0YcaIB
— Whitney Summons (@SummonsWhitney) June 7, 2020
I don’t understand the people who don’t see protest at its best as the most beautiful act of love. https://t.co/GfwUkm3iCw
— Alanna Bennett (@AlannaBennett) June 6, 2020
What a beautiful heart heart warming article, thanks!
I’m not from US, just checking- so no one is worried about Corona anymore?… Now it’s herd immunity or what?…
Yes, there are people protesting who are putting the lives of others at risk by not wearing masks. There are also places where people are protesting and doing a beautiful job observing social distancing. Like anything involving large groups of people, most people are doing things for the right reasons and in the right ways, but there are others who are not.
From what I’ve seen most people are wearing masks and trying to be safe. Protestors are already getting blamed for the uptick in numbers from Memorial day weekend even though that doesn’t match time wise. Vegas opened up last week to massive crowds but I have yet to see the hand wringing about that in the media.
I’m sure they’ll be a uptick in numbers again with more states opening, school ending etc.-but compared to protests about haircuts and golfing I get why people are willing to take the risk to protest systemic racism.
Seeing those huge crowds does make me worry. I attended one this weekend (even my small, most white, GOP controlled town had an event), wore my mask, and stayed minimum 6′ from anyone else. Everyone else was wearing masks too except those who were up speaking, and one Trump turd who thought he was such a badass for walking around filming everything.
Saw the clips on Saturday evening and cried like a baby, crowds cheering them, beautiful moments. Someone commented the March was headed to Love Plaza, perfection. With that moment among others I saw at the end of last week and through the weekend I found myself feeling more hopeful for the future.
First time commenting but read all the time. I was at the peaceful protest in Philly. Yes we are concerned re: Covid but fighting systemic racism urgently needs to be done. (way overdue) I will say everyone I saw was wearing masks, people were handing out hand sanitizer etc. It was powerful. Black Lives Matter 🖤
Yay! So happy it was peaceful. Glad you were there.
The crowds in Philly were incredible! I’m from the South Jersey burbs but know Philly well, and wow, the video of the sheer number of people is amazing and inspirational. Glad everyone was taking healthy safety measures too.
Love the weddings.
I know this is superficial, but my goodness are they a gorgeous couple! I couldn’t get over the stunning pictures of them all over the internet this weekend.
For me…..Black folks getting married is STILL a powerful political statement…so I LOVE it!
This was beautiful and powerful. I teared up watching it this weekend.
I know most brides are beautiful on their wedding day but she is absolutely stunning.
Beautiful.
One of the links in this piece led me again to Sarah Cooper (How to Bunker), who is everything we need right now.
Her stuff is great. I hate his voice so much though.
I thought they were so beautiful. And what a reception they had!