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Syracuse, N.Y. Theyre waving signs that proclaim, Black Lives Matter and chanting the name of George Floyd, whose May 27 death at the hands of white police officers in Minneapolis has sparked national outrage and protests.

Theyre marching by the hundreds through the quiet streets of some Central New York towns and villages demanding equal treatment for people of color and an end to police practices they say unfairly target blacks.

They're gathering in suburban parks to hear the stories of those who are often barely visible in their communities.

And they're overwhelmingly white.

Over the last several weeks, several thousand people have turned out young and old, male and female for marches and events in Baldwinsville, Camillus, Chittenango, Cazenovia, Fayetteville, Manlius and Skaneateles. Its an unprecedented public support of a cause that in previous years might have drawn only marginal interest from white America and not the kind of visible gatherings being seen in suburbs and rural towns

Marchers in Baldwinsville during a Black Lives Matter event on June 2,.Carly Madden

The CNY protests are happening in communities that are 84 percent to 97 percent white.

I think there is a consensus that there is something different going on, said Cornell government professor Jamila Michener, who has studied and written about poverty, racial inequality and public policy. Whether it is a watershed moment in American history remains to be seen, she said.

Nationwide, the protests against the killing of George Floyd and police brutality have not been limited to cities or largely black communities. Demonstrations have sprung up in suburban and rural communities. In some places, the demonstrations have been met with counter-protesters.

In Skaneateles Sunday, a crowd of 300 to 500 - some estimate as many as 800 - marched through village streets holding signs and chanting.

The march, organized by seven college-age village residents, ended at Clift Park, beside picturesque Skaneateles Lake, where speakers delivered a message about ending racism and, with it, a double-standard of treatment for a large segment of society.

"It exceeded all of our greatest expectations," said Madison Rhoad, a 2018 graduate of Skaneateles High School who along with seven high school friends created a group called Skaneateles for Social Justice on Twitter and Facebook.

Skaneateles might be the very definition of white privilege, said Rhoad, who will be a sophomore at Fordham when she returns to school. The village is 97 percent white.

It would be very easy for our community to gloss over this, she said.

The Sunday march attendees included the villages Republican mayor, Martin Hubbard, who a week earlier had issued an apology after being caught on video tearing down flyers the group posted downtown advertising the event. The flyers violated a village ordinance, and Hubbard said he was simply enforcing the law and didnt mean his actions to be a slap at the Black Lives Matter movement.

"This is a transformative moment in time, and we all need to do everything we can to further a just and equal society," his statement read.

Elizabeth Erdmann (right) holds a sign for motorists to see at a roadside protest along Genesee Street in Fayetteville on Wednesday.Nolan Weidner

In Fayetteville, protesters have gathered daily in front of the Matilda Joslyn Gage House since June 3 to wave signs at vehicles passing through the village on Route 5 and encourage motorists to support the BLM movement. Gage, who lived in Fayetteville in the 1800s, was an activist who worked to abolish slavery and fought for womens right to vote.

William Sunderlin, a Fayetteville resident who teaches at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and describes himself as a progressive social activist, has been one of those protesters.

Sunderlin, 66, said he has not seen whites become so involved in what could be seen as a black movement since the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

"Progressive people in white enclaves have always wanted a more diverse community," he said, adding that the Fayetteville community has a strong history of involvement with the abolition of slavery.

In a way, he said, the suburban protests are more challenging than attending events in downtown Syracuse, where more people are already on the same page.

Fayetteville resident William Sunderlin holds a sign along Genesee Street in the village Wednesday.Nolan Weidner

If nothing else, standing along Route 5 holding a Black Lives Matter sign offers passing motorists a visual contradiction that gives them something to think about as they drive along, Sunderlin said.

While the responses have been, more often than not, a thumbs up and honking of a horn, the roadside protesters said they receive some abuse, including obscene gestures and shouts of all lives matter from passers-by.

On Thursday afternoon, one angry driver revved his truck and swerved at one of the sign-holders who stood in a grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. Demonstrators contacted police but no charges were filed.

Sally Roesch Wagner, a longtime feminist, activist, educator, author and founder of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation and Matilda Joslyn Gage Center for Social Justice Dialogue, sees the white involvement in the BLM protests as a possible turning point.

"We may have reached a tipping point, culturally, where racism is no longer acceptable," Roesch Wagner said.

Roesch Wagner, a veteran of anti-war and womens rights protests in the 1960s and 1970s, said there is a difference for her in the current movement.

I always felt in the minority then, she said. I feel absolutely in step right now.

In Fayetteville and Manlius, former F-M student Leila Abdul-Malak has organized a march and a community dialogue event called Facing Racism in the wake of the killing of Floyd and, more recently, the June 12 fatal shooting by Atlanta police of Rayshawn Brooks as he ran from officers who were trying to arrest him.

Abdul-Malak said she originally wanted to attend protests in larger cities.

"I realized that systematic racism is everywhere," she said. "I think these protests should be happening everywhere."

Abdul-Malak had help from Manlius Town Board members Sara Bollinger, John Deer, Elaine Denton, Katelyn Kriesel and Heather Waters, a group of Democrats who say they are determined to work toward change in the way the community polices itself, provides affordable housing and educates its young.

"There are real conversations that are happening," said Waters, 42, who was elected to her first term on the board last fall. "This isn't about partisanship. The end is all about our values, and our values are not partisan."

Waters said the hope is to convince residents of wealthier suburbs that they have an equal role in changing perceptions of race.

"You're not just not racist, but the shift now is to become anti-racist," she said.

Curtis Chaplin, a leader of Last Chance for Change, which has done nearly 20 straight days of marches in Syracuse against police violence and systemic racism, is happy to see the support.

I think that its very great that its started to pick up in the suburbs, because thats where most of the voters are. ... Those are some of the places that we cant get into, that we dont like to get into because of the discrimination, he said. So being now that they are beginning to protest and stand up and show solidarity means more than anything.

Cornell government professor Jamila Michener, who has studied and written about poverty, racial inequality and public policy. Courtesy Cornell UniversityCourtesy Cornell University

Michener, the Cornell professor who has tracked and studied protests throughout the country, said studies have shown that there is more agreement between younger people those between 18 and 34 about issues such as the justice system being less fair to people of color.

And she thinks that is why many of the local marches have been spearheaded by young people and why the white community has become so involved.

There is also a social media component, where videos of events such as the brutal killing of George Floyd or the shooting of Rayshawn Brooks are available for all to see.

But will the movement last in the white suburbs?

For that to happen, Michener said, there will have to be a more organized effort.

Theres a real question about whether this is a moment, a flare-up vs. a tipping point, she said. I dont think there is an answer to that question yet.

The real work of changing attitudes in police departments, getting schools to hire more black teachers or making more affordable housing available in communities requires sustained effort.

"I don't think we get the transformative change until there is some redistribution of power and resources," Michener said.

She remains on the fence about what the past three weeks has meant.

Its hard to be hopeful, she said, when looking at the long history of black suffering. But when she sees what is happening between blacks and whites of all ages at peaceful rallies or marches, Its hard to be hopeless.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standards Patrick Lohmann contributed to this report.

Nolan Weidner is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached via email at nweidner@syracuse.com.

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