Organizers of a June 6 Black Lives Matter march in Mount Airy say the now-infamous death of George Floyd — who was killed by three Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officers who held the handcuffed man down while one of the officers pressed his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes — wasn’t the only reason they held the march.
But that death is what ultimately pushed them, and other protesters around the nation, over the edge.
“We have dealt with black death at the hands of corrupt…white supremacists and police officers for 400 years,” said city resident Roosevelt Pitt Jr., one of the two organizers of the march. He said America was built with the blood and sweat and lives of slaves, and even since the end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, America has largely treated black citizens as if they don’t matter.
“George Floyd’s death was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said of the impetus behind the Mount Airy march and other protests around the nation.
Makeva Young, the second organizer of the march, said she’s experienced racism at the hands of local police. Young said she’s seen this first-hand on more than several occasions, the worst of which was a few years ago when her family called the police because two individuals were outside their home, fighting in the street.
“When the police came to the residence, the people were gone. They (the police) were looking at my nephew like he’d done something wrong, and we explained to them he was not the one fighting. … they (the officers) didn’t take time to talk to us, to get to know us. They were getting ready to handcuff my nephew. They look at you like they think you’re doing something wrong, when you’re not,” she said of the incident.
The only conclusion she was able to make was that the police were ready to arrest her nephew for no other reason than he was black.
That experience with local police, along with the Floyd death, pushed her to be part of the march, but she said the issue goes far beyond any police misconduct that might be taking place.
“I was born and raised here in Mount Airy,” she said. She said she and her family see racism routinely, in both big and small ways.
Her grandfather, Walter Norman, owned a Main Street restaurant many years ago, until he was forced out of business because it competed with other, non-black-owned businesses.
“They basically forced him to close his business,” she said, adding that his might have been one of the first black-owned businesses in town. Despite that, and other forms that racism takes, she has largely been quiet on the issue over the years. Until now.
“George Floyd’s death just pushed my button, made me want to go out here and protest for black lives. We have too much of racism, seeing this man killed, in broad daylight, put something in me to want to go out here on Main Street, or anywhere, to say we do matter. It’s not right…We are all created by one person, and I’m tired of going to…I call them the old school restaurants, all these people only have one color working in their facilities and you can feel the racism when you go in there. They don’t say it, they say they don’t have it, but you can feel it.
“Black lives matter, we’re speaking out, we matter. There needs to be a change. There are black-owned businesses here, but there’s not many…There’s not a restaurant you can go in and feel at home…I don’t think it’s right they have no one of color working there.”
“Enough is enough,” Pitt said. “As black people we’re no longer going to sit by and allow this to happen without demanding change.”
Specific steps
Pitt, who has lived in Mount Airy for more than 20 years, said at the top of the list of changes he’d like to see is that police need to be held accountable.
“Police officers shouldn’t be exempt from killing black people with impunity…Police officers across this land as a group have been able to kill without suffering any type of punishment. They should be charged at the highest level the law will allow — first degree murder. We’re talking about basic human rights.”
Pitt acknowledged that instances of black individuals being killed by police haven’t occurred in Surry County, but he said that makes it no less of a problem.
“Racism is global, no matter where we are as black people, we’re going to experience it.”
While he did not mention any specific mistreatment he’s experienced at the hands of local authorities, Pitt said he did experience what he considered racism upon moving to Mount Airy. He said when he first moved to a local apartment complex he was targeted by his neighbors.
“Three people in my apartment complex called the police, saying there was a disturbance in my apartment, when there wasn’t. Why was I the only one who had the police called on me?” he asked. He compared that to a number of recent incidents across the nation, many caught on video, of white individuals calling police on blacks, making false statements.
“When a white person …calls the police because there’s a black man or a black person who they deem a threat for no rhyme or reason… You could be signing a death warrant,” he said. “We hear about it so often it’s almost becoming redundant.”
Again, he said there needs to be accountability in these cases.
“If a white person calls the police simply because they don’t want a black person roaming around, even if it’s on their own property, they (the white person) should have criminal charges filed against them. We need changes where I can feel safe walking outside my own door.
“Those are the kind of things that need to be done, and we’re going to demand they be done.”
Additional activities
Both organizers say they will not let the emotions of the George Floyd death, nor the momentum of the recent nationwide protests, fade.
The two said they plan to hold additional rallies and marches, though they couldn’t give a date. First, Pitt said the two will be meeting with Mount Airy Mayor David Rowe this weekend.
Pitt said the mayor reached out to the two of them and asked for the meeting.
“It surprised me, because I wasn’t even thinking about the mayor at this point. I guess our message was heard,” Young said.
”For me, it wasn’t much of a surprise,” Pitt said. “Even though we didn’t have thousands of people at our march, we had the right people at our march, and our voices were heard. I’m not surprised the mayor would reach out to the people whose message was genuine.
“I’m under the impression, about what I’ve been told about the mayor, that he’s open, that he wants to improve the lives of black people in Mount Airy,” Pitt said.
Toward that end, he said they will be presenting an outline of ideas to Rowe that they believe will help the black community gain equal social and economic footing in the community, ranging from holding police accountable for their actions to helping the black community become a stronger presence in local business ownership.
“We’re coming in with concrete, thought-out plans, to help all black people, no matter where they’re from, no matter their orientation,” he said of the weekend gathering.
After that meeting is when he and Young will determine their next steps, and where additional marches and protests might be held.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
Be First to Comment