Rally goers urge unity, understanding at SC State House
About 150 people gathered at the State House Saturday in response to the recent shooting of police officers and the police killings of African-American men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota.
Chris Sullivan, of Building Communities and Families in Columbia, helped organize the morning rally. His mom, Senorita Sullivan, waited for the rally to begin with Chris’s 7-year-old son Cameron and 10-year-old niece Carrington.
“We should love others no matter what they look like,” Carrington said.
Roberta McKelvin, of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America also attended the rally and said she lost her son to senseless gun violence. She attended the rally to show unity, she said.
Barricades surrounded the event and police from multiple agencies including the Columbia Police Department, Department of Natural Resources, State Law Enforcement Division and state Transport Police monitored the event.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Raechel Blakeney attended the rally because she wanted to see demonstrations about how to be safer in the community.
One demonstration, by Bruce Trezevant of Project Unity USA, showed a scenario of a vehicle being stopped by a police officer.
Trezevant, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, stressed that those being pulled over need to do everything the police officer asks. He told those attending not to talk trash if they are interacting with a police officer. If there is an issue, then the person should file a complaint with the agency later, he said.
Blakeney said that she appreciated the demonstration, but sometimes people do exactly what they are supposed to and the incident still ends in “horror.”
The only way things will change is if people make an effort to see others’ points of view, Blakeney said.
Chandra Cleveland Jennings of the Columbia Protection Agency emphasized three concepts when she spoke – knowledge, responsibility and accountability.
“You have a responsibility to obey the laws,” she said, adding people also have the responsibility to make sure the people they elect uphold and support the law.
Protests have occurred nationwide as police killings of African-American men have made headlines.
In addition, alleged shooter Micah Xavier Johnson shot at police officers in Dallas during a protest, killing five officers.
Last Sunday, Black Lives Matter protesters temporarily blocked an intersection near the State House and a section of Interstate 126. There were no arrests or injuries.
Another rally was planned for 3 p.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published July 16, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Rally goers urge unity, understanding at SC State House."