Gulfport college organizers call out Palazzo, urge action against systemic racism
Bobby Hudson wanted to invite his congressman, U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, to a protest he organized in North Gulfport Saturday to call for an end to systemic racism. But Palazzo never returned Hudson’s calls.
That’s the kind of inaccessibility and silence Hudson and fellow organizers, all Black college students from Gulfport, say is not acceptable from their elected officials.
The march and rally they held at the Mt. Olive Lodge #83 on Saturday morning aimed to put officials such as Palazzo on notice, and to highlight the long history of Black Americans fighting against racism in American society.
“It’s time to take action breaking the foundation of racism, the system that has taken over our political, social and economic systems,” Hudson, a student at the University of Mississippi, said in his opening speech. “It is time for racism and the oppressor to get off of our necks.”
The selection of North Gulfport for the event was intended to highlight the effects of systemic racism: the historically Black neighborhood has long struggled with higher poverty rates and little attention and resources from local officials. The march took protesters down Alabama Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard before circling back to the lodge.
“You don’t always have to march in front of the Capitol or a city building to make a statement,” Hudson said.
One resident, 50-year-old Tamara Holloway, stood outside her house, streaming the march to Facebook live. She hadn’t known about the protest and was happy to see it passing her home. But watching the Gulfport police vehicles trailing the marchers to protect them from traffic was bittersweet. It was the first time she could recall seeing police in her neighborhood doing something other than what she called “harassing people.”
Holloway has lived in the area for life and has family living on the street.
She hoped the march and rally would provide young people in the community with an example of how to advocate for change, and show police that members of the community are sticking together and supporting each other.
Holloway and a few family members had been grilling outside their home when the march passed by. One of her relatives, a young man who didn’t want his name to be published, was so worried that the police could suddenly turn on the marchers that he pulled out a pair of binoculars to watch the convoy continue down the block.
Sharing experiences
Outside the lodge, attendees shared experiences with racism and reflections on the history of the struggle for equality and justice for Black Americans. As they gathered, lawmakers in the state Legislature had announced that no action on the state flag would come until the afternoon, at the earliest.
For 19-year-old Mya Stewart, the flag issue hit close to home. As a student at West Harrison High School, she and classmates had advocated for the school to remove the state flag, which carries the Confederate battle emblem. The school refused.
“It was just excuses, even from students-- it’s heritage, tradition, what they know,” Stewart said. “Just excuses as to why it’s OK.”
Stewart said the flag coming down would represent the possibility of more change to make Mississippi a place she could be proud to be from.
Members of the Gulfport Police Department and Deputy Chief Chris Ryle attended the event. Ryle also spoke to the group, calling for “unity” between police and community members.
Police have been a presence at demonstrations and marches across the Coasts in recent weeks, and police chiefs have spoken at Unity Marches in Gulfport and Biloxi.
At Saturday’s event, however, organizers were more willing to call for changes in local policing. Co-organizer Jorell Meachum told the story of Lee Demond Smith, who died in custody at the Harrison County Jail in 2006. An initial government autopsy determined Smith had died from a blood clot in his lung, but another autopsy paid for by his family found the cause of death to be strangulation.
Meachum said that it’s not enough for the police to say that 90 percent of them serve their communities well.
“I appreciate y’all coming and everything,” Meachum said, gesturing towards the police officers standing in the back of the crowd. “But y’all are iffy with it.”
Ryle, asked by the Sun Herald about North Gulfport residents’ claims that police harass them, said that police respond when they’re called. He added, “I hate that they feel that way.”
“Our goal is to change our reputation,” he said. “We don’t want to just be enforcers of the law, but to be community partners.”
Attendees at the event also signed petitions calling for the removal of the state flag and for Palazzo to hold a town hall with his constituents.
Palazzo’s office told the Sun Herald that the congressman will be holding a tele-townhall next week, explaining that that format is safer during the coronavirus pandemic. But Palazzo has preferred tele-townhalls to in-person events for years.
Ella Holmes-Hines, Ward 3 councilwoman, did accept her invitation to the event and addressed the demonstrators. She urged them to be prepared to vote out elected officials who don’t represent them, and to advocate for wholesale change.
“All police are not bad, but those who are bad have to go,” she said.
This story was originally published June 27, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
