July 26th, 2020. Austin, TX. HONOR TO GARRETT FOSTER, HERO OF THE PEOPLE.
The vigil & memorial for Garrett tonight was full to the brim with grief and love. Everyone who’s been out to the protests in Austin has seen how he showed up every day, every night, to boost Black voices and especially to boost the voice of his incredible fiancée, Whitney, a Black disabled activist who has been there with him since the start. His passion for the BLM movement, the safety of his fellow protestors, and his commitment to the movement and to Black lives was an inspiration.
The media and the right are determined, as they always are, to put a spin on his murder and claim he was violent or threatening. He was not. A hateful person drove into the crowd with the intent to shoot. He stood to protect his fiancée, the Black protestors around him, and every single member of the family that comes out every day to fight for Black lives. We hold up the truth: that Garrett Foster’s murder was an atrocity, and he was not—will never be—at fault.
The fundraising efforts for Garrett’s end-of-life needs were hugely successful & further donations have since been closed. If you want to help him and his loved ones, take to the streets in solidarity with BLM as the protests continue in cities across the nation; beyond that, correct misinformation that he acted violently toward the shooter. We know the safety on his rifle was still on.
May his memory be a blessing.
The memorial has been vandalized.
Remember this when you open carry while fighting for minority rights, even the 2a community will demonize you. This was a good man with a good heart, and the comment sections are full of people still saying he shot first, even with official reports declaring otherwise, with video and eye witnesses saying he never raised his gun, they declared "at ready might as well be raised".
I'll never forget how fast a portion of our community turned on one of us because he stood in solidarity with BLM. Mocking his death because he exercised a right we openly encourage people to do.
You can be the picture perfect white boy, who served your country, who supports liberty and the second amendment, and they will still tear you down and smear your legacy.
Last night and earlier today, a man rode his bike through the memorial and then dumped a significant amount of white paint on it.
HOWEVER - within a few hours, locals came to clean up the paint as best they could, to save and restore the signs, candles, etc that were at the memorial. The Austin Downtown Alliance came and power-washed all of the paint off the sidewalk, and as of a few hours ago the memorial is back to its old self with just as many candles and more signs.
There are quite a few people checking on it regularly and a private group of people committed to maintaining it and cleaning it should anything happen again.
