For eight minutes and 46 seconds, there was silence in Donner Park. Nothing but the distant buzz of traffic, the wind in the trees, and the soft patter of footsteps.
This was the scene in Donner Park on Juneteenth, as more than 100 citizens marched in remembrance of George Floyd and other victims of police brutality and in honor of the commemoration of Juneteenth.
The length of the march was no accident — 8 minutes and 46 seconds was the recorded amount of time Floyd was pinned to the ground under a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee before he died.
The event was organized by Sixth District congressional candidate Jeannine Lake. Speaker and Unitarian Universalist Congregation Pastor Nic Cable said Lake reached out to him and his wife, local attorney Hattie Cable, just the day before to speak at the march. Cable opened the event with a prayer.
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“We gather to honor Juneteenth, to honor and remember the time in which folks were told slavery is over in this country. And yet, so much is not over,” he said. “We gather because slavery, because of racism and structural oppression against black, indigenous and people of color in this country rages on in new forms — in new forms such as the prison system, such as the factory system that keeps people at low wages and challenges the very humanity of us all.”
Cable’s prayer was followed by a brief speech from Olisa Humes, president of the Bartholomew County Area Chapter of the NAACP. Humes noted that the original, planned Juneteenth celebration was canceled for health and safety concerns and moved to September.
However, she stated that while it’s great that many cities are making Juneteenth a holiday, that gesture is not enough.
“That’s not the goal,” she said. “The goal is to change policies. The goal is to change procedures so that we can affect how people are treated across the board. Specifically, brown and black people.”
Next, Lake called upon Columbus City Councilman Jerone Wood to say a few words. Woods said he originally came to the event without the intention to speak. Still, he stepped up to the mic (or, in this case, the megaphone) when asked.
“We all look different,” Wood said. “But the one thing that is similar, we all bleed the same blood. And I feel like we, as Columbus, we know how to come together. I think we understand, with our differences, we are all still the same. And for this event, you guys showed up once again.”
Wood’s words were followed by those of Ross Thomas, the lawyer who represented Wood in the recount for Wood’s District 1 seat. Thomas has also been a criminal defense lawyer for 25 years.
“I’ve been dealing with criminal justice issues and police issues for a long time,” he said. “We’ve had incidents in the past — thousands, too many to name — where things like George Floyd have happened and there’s been momentary outrage. And then we’ve moved on. We can’t move on anymore.”
Thomas said that marches and gatherings are a good start, they’re not enough.
“Your bravery starts here, but it doesn’t end here,” he said. “You’ve got to be brave at the ballot box, you’ve got to be brave on the courthouse steps, you’ve got to be brave to your friends and relatives who don’t feel the same.”
Dale Nowlin, who’s running for the House District 59 state representative seat as a Democrat, also spoke about the importance of addressing white privilege.
“As long as we blame it on racist people instead of a racist system, things aren’t going to change,” Nowlin said.
“I’m not here because I’m a candidate,” Lake said tearfully. “I’m here because I’m a mother. … I see my own children pulled over and harassed for no reason. I’m tired of it. It pains my heart to be here. I don’t want to be here. I hope to God we don’t have to be here next year. I really hope to God we don’t have to be here next year.”
After Lake spoke, the march began. Silently and solemnly, she led the attendees around the park for eight minutes and 46 seconds, until they arrived back where they started, in front of the Lafayette Avenue parking lot.
Once the march was over, local attorney Hattie Cable spoke.
“Today as we celebrate the end of formalized slavery in the U.S., we, especially as white people, must also reckon with the roots of racism in policing in our country,” she said.
Cable spoke about the need for not only reform, but also about how the money for body cameras should be taken from law enforcement funds, not from other government-funded programs.
Cable’s speech was followed by a few words from Lake, who promised to make such reforms if elected. The march closed with a few words and a prayer from Pastor Johnnie Edwards of the Second United Methodist Church of North Vernon.
March attendee and NAACP member Stephanie Carmer said she felt “encouraged” by the event and by the turnout of people of all races.
“I feel like there’s more people for this than there are against it, as opposed to even just four years ago,” she said. “If there’s a silver lining to the most horrible, destructive president in my lifetime, this is the silver lining. He’s making us have to come together, because it’s apparent that our greatest weakness is being divided.”
Still, Carmer said she was disappointed that some Republican leaders did not attend the march or the solidarity rally earlier this month at Columbus City Hall.
“I find it disappointing that the GOP doesn’t think they have a place in the Black Lives Matter movement,” she said. “So then that makes me concerned about what is their place? They have a place, it’s just a matter of what place is it going to be? And I hope they chose right, for the sake of their children, for the sake of history. I hope they choose correctly.”
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Juneteenth is considered the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. While the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until the Civil War ended two years later. June 19, 1865, was the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the war was over and they were free.
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For more photos of Friday’s march, go to therepublic.com.
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