A small group of protestors with signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets of downtown Monroe on Sunday in a peaceful protest in what they say is an effort to be part of the solution that helps unite the community.
“My point is I just want my community to come together and be as one instead of talking about each other and fighting with each other. We need to come together as one. It can happen here – things like people losing their life,” said Shiquana Colquitt. ”We’re not against the police, we’re not against white people – we’re not racist. We just want everybody to come together. Yes all lives matter – just at the moment black lives matter more because they’re killing black people. That’s our point. We’re not racist. We want everybody to know we stand behind everybody. We’re not just for one race.”
Another protestor, Amber Veritia, said she just wanted to make sure that their voices were heard.
“I brought both my nieces, my sister and my business partner. We’re all here together. What we’re basically doing is – like when the police harass or murder someone in cold blood, we don’t want our community to take it with a grain of salt, we want our community to be activists about that. We are vocal. We want it to be vocal and then it will cause other people to be vocal about it as well. I have a nephew, he’s only 9 years old. I don’t want him to be stereotyped just because of the color of his skin,” Veritia said. “I want him to be able to grow up safe in America where it’s supposed to be the land of the free with freedom of speech. I don’t want him to be scared to go out his front door. We’re just all peaceful here. We’re not trying to cause a commotion, we’re not trying to be violent. The only thing we want is for our voices to be heard – that’s all.”
The small group began walking around the downtown area with signs, some that read “Let’s be clear, we said ‘black lives matter,’ we never said ‘only black lives matter – that was the media,” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” and “We are all equal, black lives matter, all lives matter, United we stand.”
During the evening, more protesters joined their ranks, but the protest remained peaceful throughout. Members of the Monroe Police Department stood vigil, just to be on the safe side – some of them stationed on the roofs of surrounding buildings. But no police action was required.
Interaction between protesters and bystanders was respectful and friendly. In some instances bystanders joined the protest and were given a sign to hold. Monroe Public Safety Director Keith Glass and Assistant Police Chief RV Watts spoke with protestors and had a photograph taken with them.
The protests are the result of recent shootings deaths considered to be the result of the use of excessive force by police in Minnesota and Louisiana, followed by the shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, by Micah Johnson during a protest last week. The protestors in Monroe agreed that it is a two way street, that police too are being stereotyped by the actions of a few, but they want the ones who are guilty of excessive force to be called out and held accountable for their actions.
“It’s up to the ones behind the badge to step up and call the ones out who aren’t doing right. If you don’t want to be stereotyped, you’ve got to set the standard for what you’re representing. ” Colquitt said, going on to acknowledge that they too have that same responsibility. “If one of us started acting out, and we didn’t say anything, then we’re just as guilty as them. And that’s how we feel about law enforcement. If one police officer acts out and they don’t say anything, then they’re just as guilty.”
Many people posted about the protest on social media, with some expressing solidarity with the movement and others expressing concern for the safety of everyone, especially members of law enforcement. While there have been some people expressing concern on social media about the protest, saying it gives a one-sided viewpoint, on Monroe Local News social media there were no negative comments expressed.
A Bridging the Gap forum between the police and the community is currently being put together in Walton County with local police chiefs, judges and attorneys being invited to be part of the panel.