black lives matter toronto

Black Lives Matter just shut down Yonge and Bloor

Protesters claiming to be part of the Black Lives Matter group just shut down one of Toronto's busiest intersections during rush hour.

The corners of Yonge and Bloor were blocked off for a total of 18 minutes on Tuesday morning, according to CP24, beginning at around 8 a.m.

A few dozen people carrying signs that read "Black family matters" and "Let Beverly stay" held hands around the intersection, forming a daisy-chain to stop foot traffic and vehicles from passing through while a press conference was held.

The group is protesting the detention and intended deportation of a new mother to Jamaica, according to City News.

Beverley Braham, a Jamaican woman who is married to a Canadian citizen, recently gave birth to a son in Canada.

Earlier this month, an official from Canada Border Services Agency detained both Braham and her infant son, Justin, for three days, according to protesters.

The mother and two-month-old baby are now facing deportation, and could be sent back to Jamaica on Sept. 21.

"We need everyone to get behind Beverly Braham – this is a clear cut case of bias against a black woman who challenged the Canadian immigration system," reads a media release issued by Black Lives Matter Toronto on Tuesday morning.

"Beverly should be spending her fourth trimester building her family here and enjoying her new child," the release continues. "Instead, she has been in the fight for her life, and that of her baby, and has faced inhuman detention with her tiny infant."

"This is not just. We are here to say enough is enough."

Protesters at Yonge and Bloor, which include members of Black Lives Matter as well as other advocates for the woman and her son, asked that Braham be allowed to stay until her sponsorship process is complete.

The intersection was back open to traffic shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Lead photo by

Desmond Cole


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