More than 200 protestors call for change
Published 12:14 pm Monday, June 15, 2020
Braelee Reid rides on her godfather’s shoulders during the Farmville march to Moton and back. She said the protest was an example of “all of us together.” (Photo by Alexa Massey)
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More than 200 members of the community came together to join in a peaceful march across Farmville Sunday, June 14, in the wake of national protests calling for social justice and law enforcement reform.
The march, organized by Britney Richardson, began at the LOVE sign on Main Street. Protestors chanted, held signs and walked in unity all the way to the Robert Russa Moton Museum for a water break, where participants stood together in a moment of silence for the victims of police brutality.
Several members of the community, including A&J Consulting LLC Vice President Alanna Rivera, Fresh Boyz Club Vice President Tylic Vaughan and Moton High School Class of 1952 President Reverend J. Samuel Williams Jr., stood on the historic steps of old Moton High School, now a civil rights museum, and spoke to the crowd.
“This is not just a black struggle. All of us are in this together,” Williams said Sunday evening. “Our destinies are tied up together.”
Williams referenced that historic day in 1951 in which Barbara Johns led a student walkout of the high school to protest racial inequality, stating that Johns’ actions combined courage with vision to make change happen.
“And that’s what all of us are going to do together in this community,” he said.
The group then continued to march down Griffin Boulevard and returned to the LOVE sign, where booths were set up to help residents register to vote. Law enforcement officers were stationed at all crosswalks used by protesters to direct traffic and allow the march to pass.
Richardson was elated to see the community’s support of the march.
“Just seeing the amount of people that came out, having the same ideas and the same goal, is absolutely liberating,” she said. “I just hope it continues.”
