Columbia leaders hope for repeat of peaceful Black Lives Matter marches after Friday
America is “already great,” U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn told a crowd of dozens of National Action Network demonstrators Friday morning at a downtown Columbia park. “We helped make it that way,” he said.
“People say we don’t need to march,” Clyburn said. “I say, do you go to church every Sunday? Why do we go to church? We go to church for renewal. That’s why we have these kinds of events. To renew our commitment.”
Clyburn joined a slate of speakers at the first of two social justice-oriented events held Friday in Columbia, both spurred, in part, by the recent shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The events also marked the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s March on Washington and his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. And Friday also marked the 65th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy in Mississippi who was lynched by white supremacists.
Blake’s shooting is the latest in a string of high-profile shootings of Black people across the nation this year. They have sparked a summer of protest and unrest in cities small and large, from coast to coast, including in Columbia.
Friday’s events in Columbia were in support of justice for Black lives and largely focused on mobilizing voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Morning demonstrators marched to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s local office and rallied around speakers at downtown’s Memorial Park, while an afternoon march landed at the S.C. State House to focus on voter registration. Several small groups of counter-protesters were also stationed at the S.C. State House and at Graham’s downtown office.
3:30 p.m.
“Black people will be respected and protected,” Jerome Bowers yelled to a modest crowd. Bowers is the CEO of local social justice organization One Common Cause Community Control Initiative. “We stand today and we say that peacefully, and we say that from a position of strength. No longer will cowardice be the way in which we handle our affairs.”
Organizers and law enforcement both said they were proud of the peaceful nature of Friday’s events.
“We were able to assemble in peace and register voters. That was our goal today,” said Kayin Jones, executive director of Black Lives Matter South Carolina, speaking to reporters near the African American history monument outside the State House. “We had a day full of peace.”
The same is hoped for tomorrow, when another social justice march is planned in downtown Columbia, said Lawrence Nathaniel, the group’s founder. The goal is for peace and to continue to mobilize voters ahead of the November election, he said.
“We can’t win unless our voices are on the ballot,” Nathaniel said.
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott stood alongside the protest organizers and supported their peaceful efforts.
“We look forward to more peaceful protests,” Lott said. He said it was important for law enforcement to listen, “even (to) those voices that are in opposition against us. We need to listen to them. It’s how we move forward and make changes.”
2:30 p.m.
A few dozen protesters marched from Memorial Park to the S.C. State House in downtown Columbia.
Along the way, they chanted “No justice, no peace,” “I can’t breath; we can’t breathe!” and “Let us breathe!”
Police officers briefly closed off Gervais Street for the marchers to make their way to the sidewalk in front of the State House. Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott were present.
“Justice for Josh!” the group chanted after arriving and standing along the busy downtown thoroughfare. Their chants referenced Joshua Ruffin, a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by Columbia police in April. The officer who shot Ruffin has not been charged in his death, and Ruffin’s family and local activists have demanded a federal investigation into the case.
On the State House lawn, a small memorial was set up for Anthony Huber, a protester in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was killed this week amid unrest in the aftermath of Blake’s killing.
Several speakers gave short speeches emphasizing the importance of registering to vote.
Tables were set up to register voters; a volunteer noted that more people were signing up to vote absentee.
12:45 p.m.
Roughly 60 people were at Memorial Park watching a live broadcast from an event in Washington, D.C., commemorating King’s March on Washington, where speakers included the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, according to the Washington Post.
The afternoon rally is the second of two events taking place Friday in Columbia, following the morning march to Graham’s office and speeches by Clyburn and others. The afternoon event is expected to feature a push for voter registration.
The mood was relatively quiet, as was a group of several people simultaneously gathered about a mile away outside the S.C. State House. Four people stood along Gervais Street, one of them holding a red, black and green striped flag emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter.” A man with a guitar sang, but his voice was drowned out by passing cars.
Earlier in the day, a small group of people opposing the Black Lives Matter movement had gathered at the State House, some of them engaging in peaceful dialogue with social justice demonstrators.
11 a.m.
Clyburn, one of the most influential figures in South Carolina and national politics, spoke to a crowd of around 100 people at Memorial Park, a normally lightly trafficked green space near the center of downtown, dotted with statues honoring American war heroes and victims.
Clyburn shared stories of past protests for civil rights, including moments that landed himself and his peers in jail.
“All of us got roles to play,” he said.
The third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Clyburn urged the crowd to start voting early in October. He encouraged voters to look past differences they may have with Democratic candidate Joe Biden and cast their votes for him against President Donald Trump.
10:15 a.m.
Dozens of National Action Network protesters who marched from Memorial Park were met by a small group of counter-protesters, who traveled from Charleston, outside Sen. Lindsey Graham’s local office.
While one group called out, “No justice, no peace,” the other said that Democrats want to kill babies and tear down families.
One of the counter-protesters held a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag with a yellow and black coiled snake flag. They told a reporter they were concerned about the possibility of voter fraud if existing laws were loosened. A large blue-and-white Trump/Pence flag and an American flag attached to an SUV flapped in the breeze in Graham’s office’s parking lot, but protesters did not draw near.
Among the social justice marchers was Columbia resident Erica Cokley, 39, a mother of two Black sons, who said she wants to see more tangible solutions to address issues of systematic racism to ensure her family, and others, are treated equally.
“My sign says it all. This mama done got angry with everything that has been going on. I can’t believe nobody is understanding,” she said before marching with the bullhorn in hand.
Following in Cokley’s footsteps were Darion McCloud and his daughter. McCloud said he wished he didn’t have to bring his daughter but added that the “struggle is ever going.”
“I’m here for the same reason as everyone else: exhaustion, trying to rekindle hope and for justice,” he said. “Simple justice.”
Justin Hunt, representing the activist group “Stand As 1,” said it’s unfortunate the small counter-protest group continues to follow them around to push what he considers to be false narratives and hate.
“We’ve always been able to outnumber them by the unity of Black men and women and white allies,” Hunt said.
The National Action Network demonstrators delivered a letter to Graham’s office asking the Republican lawmaker to support the George Floyd Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act.
“South Carolina has a long and sorry record of abuse of the right to vote of Black people,” read the letter, penned by officials from the National Action Network. “This legislation is long over due and it is time for you to show support for the civil rights of all South Carolinians, not just a few.”
Having marched from Graham’s office back to Memorial Park, the crowd of at least 100 people was addressed by S.C. Rep. Annie McDaniel (D-Fairfield), who told the crowd that despite failing this year, a hate crimes bill will be introduced again in the South Carolina Legislature in January.
9 a.m.
Earlier, around 70 demonstrators gathered around 9 a.m. at Memorial Park, listening to a speech by longtime activist the Rev. Nelson Rivers. The group, organized by the National Action Network, lined up widely spaced — conscious of social distancing in light of the coronavirus pandemic — to march toward Sen. Lindsey Graham’s local office. They chanted the familiar refrain, “No justice, no peace,” as they began walking down Gadsden Street.
Rivers, 69, had exhorted the crowd to vote, telling the assembled that “protest without policy change is just a parade” and “I’m too old” to march in a parade.
As they began to march, snippets of of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. blared over loudspeakers. “Now is the time” to bring about “the promises of democracy,” droned King.
A small group of counter-protesters, describing themselves as a “well-regulated militia,” held a rally of their own outside the S.C. State House on Friday morning, toting American flags and signs criticizing Black Lives Matter.
Ben Breiner, Andrew Caplan, John Monk and Maayan Schechter contributed reporting.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 9:43 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that some of the comments and actions reported were affiliated with events organized by the National Action Network. The initial comments from Congressman Jim Clyburn, a march from Memorial Park, and a letter delivered to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office were all affiliated with the National Action Network.
