“What’s his name?”
“George Floyd.”
Those words served as a cry for justice, a call for reform and a signal to rally for systemic change among the around 1,000 people who gathered and then marched around Lawton City Hall Sunday afternoon for a peace rally.
Community leader Jacobi Crowley said the event was put together quickly to provide a form of solidarity coalition between the City of Lawton and its citizens in the wake of the turmoil riling the nation since May 25 killing of Floyd.
Floyd died after Minneapolis, Minn., police officer Derek Chauvin held him down with his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; 2 minutes and 53 seconds of which occurred after Floyd became unresponsive, according to the criminal complaint filed against Chauvin. The police were responding to a call that Floyd may have tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli. Filmed by onlookers on their cell phones, the incident has served as a catalyst for nationwide protests and as a grim reminder of the many deaths of people of color by police, not just in recent years, but throughout the nation’s history.
“What’s his name?” Crowley called to the gathered crowd who responded, “George Floyd.”
“We came here for everybody to know his name,” Crowley said. “We hear the cry of George Floyd. We’re here to say his name.”
Crowley asked the audience to stand up for injustice and inequality wherever it is seen as well as to show how a peaceful rally can be respectful to the cause and to the community.
A moment of silence was greeted with a quiet calm punctuated only by the sound of wind, the bubbling waters of the fountain on the south side of City Hall and traffic a few blocks away. This was an event with a mission of clarity.
“A lot of change is going to come from what you are going to do going forward,” said Ward 7 City councilwoman Onreka Johnson.
She spoke of the moves the City of Lawton has taken to make sure the city’s police force has begun instituting systemic changes in its department so an incident like Floyd’s death doesn’t happen here. From body cameras to mandatory training and policy changes, she said accountability is at the core. That includes reaching out to make bonds between the department and the community.
Visibly upset during his time speaking, Langston University student and local graduate Keishawn Watson told the audience he was “at a loss for words.” It’s hard to fight something as inhumane as Floyd’s death.
“Honestly, you’re here for one reason and one reason only,” he said. “If your lips don’t move, why are you here?”
Crowley said that while the recent fears of COVID-19 are valid, so are the fears that come from being black in America.
“Some people are scared to get the coronavirus,” he said. “Well I’m scared to get pulled over by the police.”
A former educator, Paula Bowen serves on the City of Lawton Planning Commission. She said she was asked to speak to educate the public. Her voice rose as she conducted her lesson that touched back to the day’s 99th anniversary of the Tulsa Riots. She also spoke with the passion of a black mother who fears for her son’s safety.
“As a black mother, every time he walks out the door, I stop breathing,” she said. “No mother should have to live that way. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Bowen reminded those gathered that there is coding in the language being used to target those protesting Floyd’s death throughout the nation. She reminded the nation was born from rebellion of an unjust system and was built on citizens protesting inequity.
“Why did they do this? Because their voices were not being heard,” she said. “It’s been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and we’re dealing with the same issues.”
Ashlie “Ayvio” Overby spoke as the father of three small boys and a young daughter. Prayers they never see what he’s seen “every day” punctuated his prayer that people not sit back while people are being killed. He used the story of Jesus and the fig tree to hone in his point.
“The root of the problem is systemic racism,” he said. “We must act and we must act now. Make sure you are heard and make sure you are seen.”
Overby reminded all that when morality isn’t enough to right injustice, in this nation money is where a point can be made. He noted that the black community spends more and saves less money than any other race in the country. There’s power in the purse.
“If you do not stand with us, we will not spend with you,’ he said.
Crowley added that the ballot box is a big place to make an impact. With this being an election year, he encouraged all to make a stand when they vote.
“If you want change, go to the ballot box and vote,” he said. “When you vote, things like this may not happen.”
Retired Army military policeman James Keith Powers called Floyd’s death “one of the most disgusting things I’ve seen in my life.” Those words were powerful from a man who’s served in war. He said the experience of black America is one that’s built on being seen as less than human. And it’s got to change, he said.
“How are we going to make America great again when black people have never had justice,” he said. “We can’t address the riots if we don’t address the murder. Until black lives matter, all lives do not matter.”
Local businesswoman and Medicine Park Mayor Jennifer Ellis offered words of solidarity from the white community. She also offered a challenge to the white community to see what’s behind the outrage in Floyd’s death and the bigger problem overall.
“I’m here because it’s time white people stand up,” she said. “I’m standing up because this is a white problem, this is an American problem.”
Kip Tassin Monoessy from American Indian Movement – Indian Territory chapter spoke in solidarity. She said the Native American experience is equally deadly and cited the November 2014 death of Christina Tahhahwah while in custody of the City Jail in Lawton. She said Lawton has stepped up in the time since her niece’s death to change policies for the better. But, she said there needs to be systemic change in, not just the local law enforcement system, but in the nation up to the federal level.
“It’s time,“ she said.
Larry Bush looked to the late Marvin Gaye for the words to begin his time before the assembled. The opening verse of “What’s Goin’ On” rang as soulfully true on Sunday as when they were first written at another tumultuous time in the nation.
“That has been the words that soothed me through all this,” he said.
In describing watching the video of Floyd’s death, it was the final plea for his mother that Bush said broke his heart and sent him into tears. He said that other forms of protest haven’t taken hold and, instead, have been used to divide by the oppressors. He cited Colin Kaepernick’s protest during his time in the NFL as an example.
“We kneel, they get upset, we protest, they get upset,” he said. “It’s going to take all of us to fix it. Stand up, join us, help us fight this. It’s going to take every one of us.”
Crowley reminded the crowd of all the names of fallen black men and women who preceded Floyd before ceding, “there’s too many names to name.” He asked that Sunday be a day where things take a sea change toward right.
“This is the day we change the narrative,” he said. “With no justice, there’s no peace.”
Written by Scott Rains: scott.rains@swoknews.com.
