Community activists say a Dorchester street party a week ago drew thousands and could become a superspreader event, imperiling already hard-hit Black and Latin communities. The activists faulted Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Martin J. Walsh for not preventing it from happening.
Members of the The Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition warned during a Zoom press conference Thursday another gathering is set for the Labor Day weekend in Dorchester. They called on both city and state governments to treat the gathering as a major threat to public health and prevent it from taking place.
“An event like this will only exacerbate those numbers and make it more dangerous,’' said Louis Elisa, who is also a member of Walsh’s panel on COVID-19 health care inequities. He noted infection rates are increasing in the city’s minority neighborhoods.
“Nothing that happened this week was beneficial to the quality of life for residents of Roxbury, Dorchester Mattapan. ... The people did not benefit from the failure of government and police to do their job to prevent this event taking place,” Elisa said
The activists — some of whom have lost relatives to COVID-19 — questioned why Baker activated the Massachusetts National Guard to react to large-scale public gatherings, but did not deploy them to Talbot Avenue. Organizers used social media to invite people to the event, They set up loudspeakers and tables, and the crowd was so large MBTA buses were diverted off the major street, the activists said.
“We think the whole city is at risk,’' Dianne Wilkerson, the former state senator said Thursday, estimating that as many as 3,000 people showed up during the two-day event and most did not wear masks or comply with social distancing guidelines. “I want to be protected. We have a right to expect that.”
Wilkerson said that Baker and Walsh along with the Boston media, have been silent. According to the activists, the event took place last Friday and Saturday) on Talbot Avenue, a major street connecting Washington Street with Blue Hill Avenue.
The activists noted that Baker was reported to be “visibly upset” by gatherings in mostly white suburbs that violated COVID-19 guidelines. They were angered that he was silent about an event in a minority community that is enduring a higher infection and fatality rate during the coronavirus pandemic than white communities.
“If the governor could stand up the National Guard to prepare for riots or civil disturbance from the demonstrations. ... They could have shut off that street and saved the people on Talbot Avenue,’' from having the event unfold outside their homes, said Elisa.
During his press conference at the State House, Baker was asked about the incident.
“My understanding is that State Police and Boston police responded to those calls, engaging with people there, and basically working to come up with an answer that would translate into people leaving peacefully,’' he said, referring to tension between police and the minority community. “It took a while... Maybe it took too long, but [law enforcement]did show up.”
City Councilor Julia Mejia said she was unaware of the Talbot event when it happened and said the concerns about ineffective government response highlight the need for better communication.
“This issue here presents itself as an opportunity to figure out what it is that we’re going to do moving forward as a collective,’' she said.
The activists said social media postings indicate another gathering is set for this weekend, and that government must step in.
“I‘m getting hyped up because when I think about it, thousands of people just having a good time don’t know they might be causing their own death,’' said Priscilla Flint-Banks who lost her mother to COVID-19. “Everyone on this [Zoom] call has been affected in some way by COVID, by losing a loved one."
“This is no game, people. This is real life - death,” she said.
The group called on officials to launch a COVID-19 tracking effort to test attendees for the disease.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.