Protesters march along US 90 in Gulfport, call for removal of Confederate monument
People of all races gathered Saturday night at Jones Park to protest police brutality. They called on elected leaders to remove a Confederate monument in Gulfport, and end racial injustice and “political tyranny.”
And they chanted against the injustices so many people of color have faced for decades on the Coast, in the state and elsewhere nationwide.
Some held signs that read, “How many weren’t caught on camera?” — a reference to how it took video footage from bystanders in Minneapolis to help lead to the arrests of four Minneapolis police offices in the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.
Other signs read, “End the qualified immunity,” or “I’m a black man, not a threat.”
D’Laun C. Ball, a native of St. Louis and current resident of Gulfport, helped organize Saturday night’s peaceful protest.
“It seems very, very hard to have a sense of unity in St. Louis, where I saw the Ferguson riots and so much more,” he said. “Here on the Coast, I noticed it was a little bit more tight-knit and family-like, and I wanted to give everybody here a real opportunity to show support for change.”
He also shared his feeling about the push to get rid of Confederate monuments on the Coast and elsewhere in the state.
“You know, my great grandfather was a Confederate soldier, and he was a black man,” he said. “But if we are truly going to show people we care, why not remove the big Band-aid that’s been covering a scar for so many years. That statute is painful. I can’t tolerate a statute that, to me and so many others, stands for racism because they were fighting to keep slavery.”
“Lest we forget” is engraved on the Confederate statue that sits on the grounds of the Harrison County courthouse.
The Daughters of the Confederacy had the statue erected in 1911.
The protest Saturday ended after the crowds took to the streets and marched along U.S. 90 in Gulfport, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace.”
“White, black and Hispanic — all lives matter,” Ball said. “We raise our fists because there are people that want us to go away and stand in the dirt. Black lives matter.”
State Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes felt encouraged to see so many young people taking part in the evening protest.
“Without you” she told the young people, nothing can change for the better, but she noted it would take more to stop the injustices that still exist in the state and the nation.
“You can chant,” she said. “...You can protest, but until you cast your ballot, you will not see change.”
She urged those in attendance to get out and cast their vote at the Nov. 3 election to ensure the changes they are calling for can happen.
Protesters held up posters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and others called on leaders to remembers the names of those who had died at the hands of police officers.
The protest went on despite the rain that came as Tropical Storm Cristobal started to make its way to the Gulf Coast.
Earlier Saturday, a prayer and unity rally also took place in Gulfport, where police and local officials joined hundreds of marches calling for end to violence, discrimination and racism.
Because of the two events, Coast Transit Authority on Saturday stopped service on its Beachcomber route from Edgewater Mall to downtown Gulfport.
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 10:59 PM.
