**Preface:
Before proceeding, I’d like to note that I was not able to report objectively on the Saturday rally in Beavercreek for
John Crawford III; I was indeed an impartial participating protester, and my
transcription of the event should be read as such.**
“Black lives
matter!” cried Maria Jamison, a local organizer with Color of Change,
in the parking lot of the same Beavercreek Wal-Mart where 22-year-old John Crawford III was shot dead by police a few weeks ago. The fierce cries leaped from the dark, petite, 5’6” woman. She
is so short that the mic on the podium had to be bent 45 degrees downward to
reach her mouth.
“Black lives matter in Ohio! Black
lives mater in St. Louis! Black lives matter everywhere!” Jamison continued. In
coordination with every syllable, her small clinched fist — which was wrapped
around a rolled piece of paper, presumably speech notes had been abandoned — shook
up-and-down, flinging beaded sweat from her forearms into the front row of the
surrounding crowd. As every sentence ended, Jamison violently shook her head
from left to right, and her long, thin dreadlocks follow. Jamison’s eyes were hidden
by oversized sunglasses — but her passion transcended even the surrounding Pentagon Blvd. strip-mall; it was, in a word,
uncontainable.
To the far left of the speaker and
under a blue pop-up tent, the Crawford family was congregated. Tressa Sherrod,
Crawford’s mother, sat in a red folding chair, her eyes were fixed intensely on
the speaker — but she never claped or shouted; she wasn’t even able to offer a
nod of affirmation. She remained paralyzed for the duration of the rally.
Surrounding Sherrod in a semi-circle
were a few young adults and teenagers — presumably Crawford’s siblings and
cousins. They stood wearing blank, stern stairs — which were aimed into the
crowed — and crossed arms, looking as if they were bodyguards protecting
Sherrod. The younger children kneel with their faces down while twisting and
fidgeting a piece of paper that had been handed-out earlier in the rally. The
family seemed to share a tone of despair,
though one is not sure if language can convey such a mood.
Beyond the podium and pop-up tent, an
anxious crowd of around 300 was formed in a semi-circle — some were holding
hands, others holding signs.
The crowd was diverse. The
organizing groups included, among many other groups, the National Action Network[NAN], the Ohio Student Association [OSA], Color of Change, Swagg the Vote, and the Nation of Islam [NOI]. From
faith-based organizations, to policy-driven non-profits, all the way to
partisan groups — organizations that ascribe to having as sense of communal
responsibly showed up well organized. Professional speakers and organizers, as
well as elected officials were among the crowd, including State Representative
and President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati). Old guard grass-roots volunteer activists, who reminisced of
the civil rights movements of the 1960’s, also attended in high numbers, and
kicked the rally off by orchestrating a sing along that included illustrious social
justice folk tunes, like: “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.”
College students also participated — from Wittenberg, Antioch, and Ohio State.
Protesters were Black, White, East Asian, and various shades of pigment in
between. Indeed, “the fight for justice knows no color,” as many protestors
contended.
“We want Justice!” Jamison
concluded, leaving the podium and collapsing into a lawn chair behind the other
speakers. After a final round of applause, the crowd slowly disbanded, but some
of the elder organizers began to sing: “Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.”
Ultimately, while the group was
incredibly diverse, the collective attitude can be described in a single word:
Solidarity. And while the rally only lasted about an hour, the participants’ goal
— Justice — will certainly entail a never-ending battle. However, evidence of
these two ideals is possibly the only source of hope amidst the ugly, inhumane,
White supremacist ideology that inflicts America — an ideology that has stripped
many lives from many families, many lives from many communities.
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