Colleton shows the world how to deliver a powerful message, peacefully

Colleton County showed the world how to protest peacefully while still sending a powerful message on Sunday afternoon.
About 150-200 people showed up on the courthouse grounds to hear the views of numerous speakers on the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after being arrested, Derek Smith, who died after being shot by law enforcement in Colleton County; and other black men who have died in confrontations with law enforcement.
Speakers also talked about racial tensions, solutions, problems in Colleton County, the importance of voting and unity while spectators held posters, some listing names of men killed, some saying “Stop Killing Us” and other similar phrases.
The group also walked down Washington Street, to City Hall and back to the courthouse before disbanding before the 8 p.m. curfew established by the city after protests in Charleston and Columbia ended in violence.
One of the most dramatic parts of the march was when many of the group laid down with their hands behind their backs after they said they saw Mayor Bill Young watching the event from inside City Hall.
He’s the mayor and he should have been there, said Shawnya Mitchell Sanders, one of the organizers.
Young said he was unable to attend, but “I wanted to thank the participants in Sunday’s protest and everyone in Walterboro and Colleton County for the way they have conducted themselves during this tragic and emotional time in our nation. When we have peaceful demonstrations, like the one held here Sunday, we clearly hear the message of justice and equality for all and that is a catalyst for change.”
Colleton’s protest was organized by New Leaders of the South, a newly organized group in Colleton County headed by Tyeesha Aiken. Sanders and Chiffon McNeil, along with many other members, helped organize Sunday’s event, Aiken said.
“I was very, very, very pleased,” Aiken said. “It warmed my heart to see people come out for the same mission as a unified group. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. We wanted to show not only Colleton County, but the world, what we’re about — getting results peacefully. This was well overdue.”
McNeil said she was “proud of the community for coming together and banding as one, proud of everyone who came and voiced their concerns. I’m excited for our community.”
Colleton’s protest was very different from the protests in Charleston and Columbia, which ended in numerous injuries, fires and destruction. Many in Colleton apparently thought that would happen here. “It’s so sad when we try to protest, we get a lot of hate. People said we were going to loot, we were going to riot, but that was not the intention at all,” McNeil said. “I’m the mother of two sons. I hope that when they are 18 and go out to live their lives, that they will be protected by those who are supposed to protect and serve. People are just tired of the injustice we are facing — because we are raising black children. At no point did we plan on rioting here.”
Growing up in Brooklyn, McNeil saw these problems on a large scale. “I have a brother, a dad. And I’m scared if they are going to come home. And for most moms, that’s our greatest fear — will they not come home because of the color of their skin?”
Sanders agrees. “Everything we are asking for is our right. It makes no sense that we have to be afraid coming home. But we were not trying to stir things up. What we want is for everybody to be able to talk together as one. It’s not just a black voice, or Mexican or green or purple voice. It’s just a standard that has to be set.”
Even though others helped plan the event, Tyeesha “has the vision. She doesn’t take the credit,” Sanders said. “We knew we were going to have all people of all backgrounds and races. But as long as we kept to our mission, God was going help us.”
Following are condensed versions of the talks given by the various speakers, who were invited from the audience:

Eric Campbell
We have to wrestle in the spiritual to gain power to be victorious,
the same way we come together for this.
There was a 17-year-old girl who was killed on Francis Street, a 17-year-old female killed by a black male. We didn’t come together for that.
Murder is a spiritual matter. We will never eradicate the dark power by fighting with darkness.
We have to learn to come together spiritually. It’s Bible principles, it’s the law of the universe.
We’ve got to come together all the time, not just when something comes up. It starts at home, by building everybody up in love. Love is the most powerful force in the universe.
Teach us, Lord, how to come together and unify in love, all the time, not just when there is war. Teach us how to riot in peace so we can be stronger. Teach us strategies, teach us how to raise our kids. Teach the law enforcement in this county to be the example that they should be, so that Colleton County can be the example for the world.

Tyeesha Aiken
This is not about race, this is about justice.
You’ve got to go to the polls and put people in place that care about people. Enough is enough. I don’t care what they look like.
Why are we here today? Because we want all of Colleton County to come together. People were saying we were coming here to burn down downtown Walterboro. But that’s not why we came here. We didn’t come for that. We said we’re going to peacefully assemble and show solidarity.
They said this wouldn’t happen. Colleton County was never going to come together. There’d be four people out there.
It takes courage to come out here.
What are we going to do about it? Are we going to keep voting and put the same people in office that are going to keep pushing it under the rug? Or are we going to make sure we put people in office who care about people?
What are we going to do about these people who have mental health issues like PTSD when they come in contact with law enforcement? (speaking about Derek Smith). How are we going to address that, law enforcement? PTSD is real in America.
My cousin is a Purple Heart veteran who almost lost his life in Iraq. But his chances of survival here are slimmer than in Iraq. What sense does that make?
The anger, the frustration. We’ve been angry for a long time. They’re still pulling us over because we’re black. They’re still pulling us over because we look like we’re about to do something. Or they just think we’ve got drugs so they pull us over. And we’re tired.
But until we need to take action and put our boots on.
We’ve got to start hitting them in their pockets. We can’t just be mad. We’re leaders here in Colleton County. Enough is enough.
This little clique that’s here in Colleton County, it’s time to break it up.

Lemarck Clayton
If you can’t look at your fellow man and be there for him, what are we out there for? Because all lives matter. Black lives matter.
I’ve been harassed by the police myself. I’ve been down that road. A lot of people don’t understand why it hits me so hard, but today when I saw in the news there were riots, what’s the point?
I’m going to put forth two words today: assuming and appear.
For my black brothers, we always assume we’re doing something. We appear to be doing something.
We wanted to come downtown and have a peaceful protest. For people to think we were going to have a riot, that’s sad. But when you know people are doing it for a bigger cause, it’s a difference.
Today, I hope Colleton County sees how peaceful we are. Colleton just doesn’t understand what the cause is for. At the end of the day, I appreciate all the ones who are not of African descent who are here. I respect y’all a lot. Give them a hand.
I grew up in Cottageville. Cottageville’s an everybody town. I tell everybody, each person supports in their own way. You’ve got people that work in hospitals, people that teach, people that are in the military.
At the end of the day, the person beside you matters. Their kids matter. Their bills matter. Their lifestyle matters. So if you’re here, no matter how you show your support, it’s worth it. We can’t all support the same way.
At the end of the day, if there’s no justice, there’s no peace.
Colleton County, let’s do it.

Jeraldo Brown
I’m not a black American. I’m not an African American. I’m an American. I was born in Beaufort, grew up in Roadside, work in Walterboro. I don’t see nothing about Africa. I’m an American.
The reason that we are out here today is that we are Americans who are hurting, who are angry, who are fed up, not only with police brutality, but with inequality as a whole. Black people face it. Native Americans face it. White people face it.
But it’s time for us to stop dividing ourselves and come together as a nation. It’s the old mindset: oh, that’s a white church. I don’t go over there. Or that’s a white club, I don’t go over there. White can’t just be a color. White just can’t be a church. We do things together.
The people who protest, they have a right to be angry. We can’t bash them for how they respond, how they feel. But what we can do is show them a better way, like we’re doing today.
We’re on main street and I don’t see a window that’s been busted.
We are here assembled peacefully exercising our first amendment rights. It might not change the world, but it might change Colleton County.
We did this when Ranya lost her life, when Derek lost his life. But what are we doing when we leave these gatherings?
Go to the schools and check on these young men and women. Stop on the corner and say “Hey, bro, that isn’t how you do things.”
Show everybody a better way of life. I’m a citizen in this county and I’m a voice that can be heard. You don’t have to have a political office, you don’t have to have accolades, you don’t have to have a college education to make a difference in your community.
The difference starts today. We all bleed the same blood. We can be angry and we’ve got a right to be angry. But in our anger, remember: how we respond is going to make the difference.

Domel Davis
At the end of the day, all lives matter. All of you are equal.
We’re in Colleton County, we’re underdogs. We’re not a big city like Charleston or Spartanburg or Greenville. We’ve got to stick together. You’re our sisters, our brothers.
Look at yourself and say what am I going to do today? Am I going to be positive or negative?
I served two years over a first-degree murder I didn’t do. A lot of people might give up. Say I can’t beat these people. But I’m going to fight.
I salute each and every one of you because each one of you stands for something. Everybody puts on their pants the same, but the minute you stand for something, we fight together as brothers and sisters.
We’ve got to start caring about ourselves. My father told me our circumstances are the result of our thoughts. In order to change our circumstances, we must change our thoughts. As black men, as black women, as white men, no matter who you are.
It starts in the mind.

Charles Ghent
I’m glad to see everybody here together, exercising your rights.

What inspired this in Minnesota was a tragedy. I think we can all universally condemn that. And we will condemn things like that going forward.
We’ve been trying to get more involved in the community and hearing all your concerns directly. I look forward to meeting with each and every one of you. Please reach out to us. Let us know what those concerns are, and we’re going to try to address those.
In the meantime, I encourage all of you to take care of yourself, take care of your communities and report things when you hear them. We’re here to serve you.

Wade Marvin
What happened in Minnesota is a tragedy and it’s unacceptable. And I’m glad to see everybody here.
I see people as I look out at the crowd that we’ve had conversations and we’ve worked through it. We want you to express your thoughts, and we want to listen.
I always return my phone calls. I always want to talk — and sometimes just listen. I’m here. Please reach out. Don’t let it fester. I’ll even come to you.
Reach out with any questions or concerns you have.

No name given
I spent 26 years in marines, been pastoring almost 20 years.
I so hoped that something like this would happen in rural America. Urban America can’t carry this burden all by itself.
For 8 minutes and 53 seconds, a child of God pleaded for his life. slammed on the cold hard concrete, handcuffed behind his back, laid on his stomach, as he called out for his mother. He pleaded with his oppressors, calling them sir. They watched with indifference while his life exited out of him for 8 minutes and 53 seconds. He pleaded for his mother, pleaded for his life, pleaded for someone to intervene. And they watched him die.
And for too many of us, we have been murdered with impunity. For too many of us, the assumptions have been made that we’re expendable — that our lives don’t matter. And so here we are, in this moment of crisis, in this moment of history. And we must ask ourselves, who are we? Are we human enough? Are we chosen enough to make a difference in this world?
Each one of us was created by God for a purpose. And not one of us has the right to be judge and executioner of anybody’s child.
So what are we doing to do at this moment? This situation? Do we have the moral integrity, the moral fortitude, enough God in us, to say it’s wrong to murder? It always has been and always will be.
So God has called us. We must have peaceful passion. We must recognize that the only way this nation is going to change is that we be the change that this nation so sorely needs. We must begin by being constructive. It makes no sense, walking away from here not having registered to vote. It makes no sense walking away and being the same person you were before you came.
God’s children need us. And they need us to use our voices. Everybody that’s here today, America needs us to stand for liberty, to stand for justice, to stand for equality.
America needs us to move forward, not backward, not sideways.
The times we live in do not call for passivity. The times we live in demand our engagement. Because if we make contact, we can make impact. And it’s time to impact our world. It’s time to come alongside with one another and recognize the true values for which our Constitution espouse. The true values that America holds dear: that all men and all women are created equal, that they have the privilege of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
So when you go back home, go back with the “Yes, we can” spirit, knowing that we can, and we must, make a difference in this world and this community.
Because America needs you and me.

Derrick Bodison
We can’t see where it’s going, but if we believe it’s going in a better place, guess where it’s going? It all starts with that thought. What you believe that’s what your future will be.
Whatever you say you are, that’s what you are.
If you want to belittle yourself, put yourself in a box, then get all boxed and shipped off.
If we’re part of the problem, we can’t be a part of the solution. If we can’t come here together and make a difference together, it won’t make a difference, because everybody will leave here and feel what they feel.
If you put it in your spirit, it’s real.
We’ve got to do more for our people. We’ve got to hold each other accountable. I’m responsible for this brother. I’m not going to let him throw his life away when he’s around me, because I’m my brother’s keeper.
If we learn to support each other and build each other, everybody’s dreams will come true, everybody’s life can change.
What we don’t know can hurt us. They didn’t tell us that we can be business owners, they didn’t tell us that we could own those factories. If we learn to come together, we can have the world.
But it comes with unity. It doesn’t come fighting with each other. It’s time to come together and make a change.
And we’re going to change by coming together at that voting box. We do make a difference. Get off the couch and make a difference.
I promise you, God built me for this. And we are all built for this.
All of us here, we’re not enemies. I don’t care what color he is. Moral standards, that means something.
Black lives matter, all lives matter, but unity matters most of all. We can’t sit to the side and watch. That was murder, on camera.
It takes all of us to really look in the mirror and really be honest with yourself. Are you happy with what’s going on in your life? If you’re not happy with what’s going on with your life, you’ve got everything within you to change it.
We already know the world hates us, but what are we doing to do about us hating us?
One life for everyone.


No name given
In 1999, Leon Walters Jr. was ordered into court. Court hearing started at 1 that afternoon. At 3:45, he was pronounced dead.
He left the courtroom, so they say, to a holding cell. Time had passed, so I got up and asked an officer what was taking so long. He told me they were wrapping the case up. I sat back down for a second, then another officer came and told me there was a procedure going on downstairs. I said “No!”
Ten years together and no sign of seizures. I saw people running, and I began to get nervous, shaking. Then officer came back and said he was going to escort me to county hospital. When I got to county hospital, he was already bagged and tagged. No explanation.
The witness {in George Floyd incident} said he said, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” No justice, no peace.
Don’t forget about him (Leon Walters.) They swept him under the rug. I can’t forget anything about him. The father of five. Two belong to me. A military man. Help us, help the family. Let’s not let this go.
No justice, no peace. I can’t breathe.
When you have a man handcuffed, he’s handcuffed behind his back. What harm is he to the white man? What harm can he do?

Deanna Miller Berry
I know about your community through Tyeesha. But I hope that what I say to you today resonates through your soul.
When that young man said “I can’t breathe” — most people who can’t breathe don’t have enough to even strike a blow at you.
I got up this morning and something changed. The moment I woke. George said “Get me up.” Don’t let his last words be in vain. Use his words as strength for a black community to get up, to wake up and stand up for injustice.
That officer, the minute you disrespect that badge, the vow you took to serve and protect, that is a criminal offense. Enough is enough.
(In Denmark) they weaponized water. In our city there was a great act committed this past week. How dare you disconnect the services of a city when we’re dealing with a pandemic without letting people know? So our nurses who are on the forefront come home to no water? In Denmark. The first city to disconnect services during the pandemic.
We matter. How do we make a difference? How many of you are mothers? Whether you’re white or you’re black, everyone should be outraged.
We’re grateful for our white allies, but you’ll never know what it’s like a day to walk a day in the shoes of a black man. You’ll never have to face the injustices we face.
I spoke at the rally in Columbia. And we didn’t start it. They infiltrated us. I saw it with my own eyes. And when they threw first, our young brothers who were on the front line — the young ones —they got between those officers and the crowd, and they stopped a holy war. That moment, we were able to regain control. But then something happened. They shot rubber bullets into the crowd. Unless you live on the battlefield, how dare a person fire on American soil?
You better stand. Get out to the polls and you vote. If you’re not registered to vote, get in line. And get ready for November. That’s the only way.
We black people, they’re scared of us. They get armor and their guns and they go to the state capitol and take pictures with state police as they get ready to reopen the country, but they cannot stand with us. Instead, they betray us and try to portray us as bad people.
That’s why I’m so grateful for the people of Walterboro. You don’t have that in your midst.
You stand and show them, it isn’t us.
Enough is enough. And we’re going to stand and we’re going to fight. Fight with your vote!

Rolets Buckner
Even on Saturday of this week, you can go to the voter registration office and vote.
I beg you, I plead with you — vote.
If you need a ride, my number is 843-217-2242. I will gladly give you a ride. If you say you can’t go because you don’t have food in your house, call me. I will put food in your house and take you to vote. If you need gas in your car, hit me up. I’ll do that too.
I don’t care. I need you to the polls. I need you there. We’ve got to change — we’ve got to make the change at the polls. We’ve got to do it. We can keep talking and talking and talking. But until we get to the polls and make a change, it won’t change.
That’s what we need to do in Colleton County. I’ve been contacted by a lot of contacts, and I’m glad for their contact, but some of these people who’ve contacted me, I’m scared. And they might be good people, but I’m scared. Because as a mother and a grandmother, I have been attacked by this system. My life has been threatened.
Everybody who knows me knows that I don’t do anything but good things. I’m here trying to feed people, clothe people, doing whatever I can to help people. But my life has been threatened for just those very things. And I have been talked about on Facebook by the police. Tyeesha and I were called enemies. We were called demons. They posted our pictures side by side. And it was a police officer who did it. Who’s still on the force.