Peaceful assembly: Nearly 400 protesters gathered in Festus, Arnold
By Kevin Carbery, Tony Krausz
During Saturday’s sweltering afternoon heat, several hundred people gathered at the Festus Public Library parking lot and close to 60 assembled near the entrance of Arnold City Park to protest the death of George Floyd and other racial injustices.
Both protests went smoothly, organizers said.
“It was very peaceful the entire time,” said Savannah Horton, 22, of Festus, one of several people who organized the Festus protest. “I’m very happy with the people protesting peacefully. I was happy the community came together and stood with us in a fight for justice.”
Kelcie Hood, 22, of Festus organized the Arnold demonstration, which was one of many held across the nation Saturday to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck while restraining him.
“I think it went amazing,” Hood said of the Arnold protest. “I had more people than I ever expected. I thought it would be me and my family there. Seeing that support was mind blowing. It was peaceful, and exactly what I wanted.”
Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis praised the Festus protest organizers for meeting with authorities prior to the demonstration.
“The organizers did a fine job,” he said. “That is exactly how protests can go whenever the protesters and the police work together. I’d like to give a shout out to the organizers – Jim Henry, Paige Butler and Savannah Horton – for organizing this and working with us.”
Arnold Police Chief Bob Shockey said Hood worked well with his department, and he was pleased with the result.
“(Hood) contacted us, and we worked out the details,” Shockey said. “She was very professional. We wanted to make sure she could exercise her rights and have a peaceful event. That was the goal for both of us. She was very professional and did a good job organizing her event.”
In Festus
Organizers said they wanted a means for local residents to add their voices to the protest over Floyd’s death.
The Festus demonstration took place in three sessions that included speeches, symbolic marches and a time to kneel for 8 minutes, 46 seconds – the length of time Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck. Horton estimated that about 300 people took part in the first session. She said the crowd thinned for the next two sessions.
Jewel Kelly, a Festus area real estate agent who was one of the featured speakers, said he feels it is important for local communities to join in the protests.
“I think it starts with awareness and community engagement,” he said. “It helps people to see they are not alone.”
Many teens were among the crowd, including Divina Selmon, 17, of Crystal City, who said she was eager to participate.
“I just want to spread awareness of what’s going on around the world,” she said. “There’s no better time to fight for equality than 2020.”
Carrington Cook, 16, of Festus said it’s important to shed light on the need to continue fighting for equality.
“A lot of people don’t know or understand what’s going on,” said Cook, grandson of the late Earl Cook, who was the first black mayor of Festus.
Nyki Lambert, 42, of De Soto, said she attended to support the movement against racial injustice.
“I think it’s a shame we have people in our country who don’t feel safe,” she said. “No American citizen should fear the people who (are supposed to) protect them.”
The Rev. Tish Green, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Festus-Crystal City, said she felt it was important to participate.
“We’re standing against racial injustice and for unity and peace in our nation,” she said.
Representatives from several other law enforcement agencies joined Festus Police at the protest, including Crystal City Police Chief Chad Helms.
“We’re here to support the public and make sure it remains peaceful,” Helms said. “We want to keep everybody safe.”
Henry, 26, of Festus, said he appreciates the cooperation he received from police and other community members.
“We’re seeing support from the police, church organizations and other organizations,” he said. “We’re all concerned citizens. Chief Lewis and Chief Helms, as well as the mayors of both towns (Crystal City Mayor Tom Schilly and Festus Mayor Sam Richards) have been very supportive.
“We want to remember George Floyd. We want to remember the victims of police brutality.”
Lewis said while he supports the people’s right to protest, he believes it is wrong to stereotype all law enforcement personnel.
“You can’t let the actions of one reflect on everyone else,” he said.
Horton said she hopes to see more protests in the future.
“We’re definitely going to do this again,” she said. “Until there’s a change, we are not going to stop.”
In Arnold
Nearly 60 protesters lined the sidewalk along Jeffco Boulevard just south of the Arnold City Park entrance.
That protest was held from noon to 3 p.m. Because of the demonstration, the Arnold Farmers Market, which typically is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, ended at 10:30 a.m. to reduce traffic flow at the park, Arnold City Administrator Bryan Richison said.
In the days leading up to the protest near Arnold City Park, a group of between five and 30 people from north Jefferson County held signs at the corner of Hwy. 141 and Jeffco Boulevard in Arnold.
On Saturday, protesters mainly stood silently holding signs with messages asking for change and an end of violence against people of color.
One of the protesters, Polett Solis, 21, of south St. Louis County said she came to Arnold to support her friend and, as a Hispanic woman, spread the message that people of color face discrimination.
“We are here standing for lives; all lives matter,” Solis said. “Hopefully, we are spreading awareness. Hopefully, people who have been close-minded about this will have a different view and understand what we go through.”
Kelcie Hood said she started organizing the protest by creating a Facebook group on June 1, and after a couple of days, the group gained so much support, she reached out to the Arnold Police to help plan it. “I called them to let them know what was happening,” Hood said. “I was going to do the (Hwy. 141 and Jeffco Boulevard) intersection, but once we were getting so many people, that was not going to be safe for us. They said, ‘Why don’t you do Arnold Park?’ That is when we figured it out.
“I’m really glad I did go and talk to (Arnold Police) about it. They were extremely helpful, and they showed us there are good cops out there.”
Arnold Police were stationed at various spots near Jeffco Boulevard and inside the park. The officers did not interfere with the protesters, and they loaned Hood a safety vest to designate her as the spokeswoman for the group.
Hood said she plans to push for changes to end violence in the U.S. “I would like to see a better prison and foster care system,” Hood said. “I think we can vote to make changes. I will try to start a grass-roots movement to try to change our country. At the end of the day, I don’t want our kids to have to stand out here like this and fight this fight.”
Marching: Group of about 300 gathers for protest at Eureka’s Lions Park
By Katelyn Mary Skaggs
Protesters gathered in droves on a sun-soaked afternoon in Lions Park, lending their voices to end racism.
A group of more than 300 people, mostly a young crowd, gathered at about 1 p.m. Tuesday to participate in a rally to stop racism and violence.
The demonstration in Eureka was one of many held across the nation to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck while restraining him, and other racial injustices.
Morgan Brown, 17, of Eureka said she proposed the event and organized it along with other 2020 graduates of Eureka High School.
“I know that within Eureka there have been struggles with minorities finding equality and justice,” she said.
Brown said she is part of the LGBTQ community and knows firsthand about intolerance. She said she posted in a Eureka Facebook group to see if any local protests were happening, but that she was blocked from the group.
“I was respectful, no harsh words,” she said. “Myself and other teens and students within the community were like, ‘That’s not OK, we want to bring awareness to this.’”
The event featured remarks from six speakers before the group marched from the park to downtown Eureka, then past City Hall and the Police Station before returning to Lions Park. Brown led the march and chanted, “This is what community looks like,” and, “This is what family looks like.”
Brown said the protest became bigger than she planned.
“We thought it was just going to be a few students down here,” she said.
Brown said she hopes the event brings awareness about problems related to racism and privilege.
“Sometimes the hardest part of becoming an activist is realizing you are part of the problem, and I feel like that is a problem in Eureka,” she said.
She said she hoped the protest would give people an opportunity to educate each other about racism problems and to provide a forum for open communication.
Rebekah Tuttly, 35, of Eureka said she came to the protest to show support for the nationwide movement.
“I think it’s important that we all make our voices be heard,” she said. “We need to support those whose voice aren’t (heard).”
Eureka Mayor Sean Flower spoke at the demonstration, along with Maria Nisbet, a local business owner, Eureka High School athletic trainer Sharon Henderson, Father Leo Spezia of Most Sacred Heart Church and others.
Spezia asked the crowd to start treating everyone as human beings. “Black lives matter because God loves each and every one of us,” he said.
Flower called on residents to continue to support the movement after the protest.
“In two, three weeks if this is all you’ve done, that will be disappointing,” he said.
Henderson said she was both sad and happy to be at the event.
“I am so proud of the students who worked to bring this together,” she said.
Eureka Police Chief Mike Wiegand said his department met with the organizers before the event. He said when the department heard about the protest, officials reached out to the organizers to talk about the plans.
Wiegand said the organizers stressed they wanted a peaceful protest and did not want to disrupt local businesses. He said members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol would help assist with traffic control during the march.
Wiegand said it was important to him that the protest remained peaceful, so everyone would be able to express themselves and stay safe.
Prior to Tuesday’s demonstration, a few pockets of protesters were seen in Eureka after Floyd’s death.
An incident of vandalism occurred overnight May 30-31. The words “I can’t breathe,” which Floyd told police officers before he died, “revolution” and an expletive were painted on a retaining wall on Meramec Boulevard. On May 31, Flower posted on Facebook that the graffiti had been cleaned off the wall by local residents and Eureka Fire Protection District employees.