Quick Take
Some friends of civil rights activist Thairie Ritchie say his decision to light himself on fire on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was an act of public protest. They say they want to bring attention to his message and are organizing a Sunday vigil in his honor at Santa Cruz City Hall.
More than a week after prominent civil rights activist Thairie Ritchie set himself on fire near the Black Lives Matter mural outside of Santa Cruz City Hall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, some friends and fellow activists are pushing back against what they say is an effort to silence the message behind what they believe was an act of protest.
Ritchie, well known for his work in the police reform and Black civil rights movements, set himself on fire on Jan. 20, several hours after President Donald Trump took his oath of office and after a large MLK Day march had dispersed. First responders extinguished the flames and Ritchie was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
Local city and police officials have so far refused to release details about the incident, citing legal restrictions. Lookout Santa Cruz published a story about Ritchie’s self-immolation on Tuesday but withheld his name to give his family privacy. After several community members posted publicly in recent days on Instagram about Ritchie, his dedication to civil rights and how they feel it’s important to speak publicly about what he did, Lookout is choosing to identify him.
Ayo Banjo, a friend of Ritchie’s and fellow activist, said he believes Ritchie was trying to send a public statement through his actions.
“This is not just wanting to die. This was a message,” Banjo said in an interview. “A Black Lives Matter organizer who I know was wholly committed to the liberation of Black lives, who lit himself on fire at the Black Lives Matter mural on MLK Day at the beginning of the inauguration of Trump,” he said. “This is all strategic. Thairie is a self-studied activist. He understands what he’s doing.”
Artist Abi Mustapha echoed those sentiments on Instagram. “While his story is not necessarily mine to tell, one thing I can say with certainty is he was sending a message very publicly and purposefully.” she wrote. “By keeping it quiet we take away his power.”
Ritchie is “deeply beloved” in Santa Cruz, she added. Mustapha is a local artist and co-founder of SC Equity Collab, the organization that spearheaded the creation of the Black Lives Matter mural project.
Some of Ritchie’s supporters are planning a march and vigil in his honor for Sunday, with several promoting the event on Instagram with the hashtag #wehearyouthairie.
“Our brother, community leader and fearless activist Thairie Ritchie devotes his ALL to making Santa Cruz a better place and a better world for each of us,” Luna Bey, organizer of the Sunday vigil, wrote on Instagram. “Our brother is still with us. Let’s honor his work and shower him with love this Sunday. He has always shown up for us. Let us show up for him.”
Bey’s post says the procession on Sunday, Feb. 2, will start at 4:30 p.m. at the Bike Church, at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Spruce Street in downtown Santa Cruz, and go to city hall.
Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker declined Friday to comment on the incident. “In some situations, such as this one, there are legal restrictions placed on the City that prohibit the City from providing all of the information that the media seeks,” he wrote in an email. “Thus, I am limited in how I can respond to your questions.”
Huffaker cited several legal codes, including some that protect information for juveniles, issues of child abuse and mental health services. It’s not clear how the legal codes relate to the incident.
Banjo told Lookout he learned that Ritchie left a letter or letters about his motivations that day. He called on the Santa Cruz Police Department to publicly release any letters in its possession. Banjo emphasized he doesn’t blame Ritchie’s family for wanting privacy. Instead, he is upset at people who have information about Ritchie’s actions and are choosing to withhold his messages rather than publicize them.
“He’s a grown man who made a grown man decision. So to try to infantilize him, to try to infantilize his story, to me, is the biggest disgrace,” Banjo said. “We must do better in assuring that we get justice for his message. His message must be public, and he is not one to do these things without an organized process. He wrote a letter. There was a letter. We don’t have that letter. That is intentional.”
Lookout asked City of Santa Cruz officials on Friday about any letters by Ritchie. Huffaker repeated that the city isn’t releasing any additional information about the incident. Police Chief Bernie Escalante and Deputy Chief Jose Garcia didn’t return requests for comment.
Banjo said Ritchie is one of the kindest and most authentic people he knows and that any effort against publicly talking about his friend goes against what he thinks Ritchie intended.
“I will say any effort to silence his story is unconscionable, because he suffered to get his message out, and the least that we can do is hear him out,” said Banjo. He pointed out that Ritchie started a weekly podcast on KSQD-FM radio called “Unheard Voices.” “And we believe that to heal the community is to continue to unhear him after he did this publicly on the street?”
Banjo said he feels that people who are trying to silence Ritchie’s story are forgetting what many activists have been marching for for years.
“The effort to not say his name, it’s diametrically opposed to the entire Black Lives Matter chant, ‘Say their name, say his name, say her name,’” he said.
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