ARKADELPHIA -- Hundreds of protesters gathered at Gennesaret Missionary Baptist Church Tuesday evening and walked the half-mile to the intersection of North 15th and Pine streets, where a park celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is planned to be built.
Police, business owners, pastors and more made the trek down Pine Street to the future park to hear from a slate of speakers that included the chief of police, city manager and mayor.
Kyle L. Jones, pastor at Munn's Chapel First Baptist Church in Arkadelphia, explained the reason for the protest succinctly.
"We are here because we have witnessed yet another tragedy in the United States of America," he said. "We've seen on video, with our own eyes. We don't need a grand jury to make a determination. We don't need the DA to make a determination. We need people to do what is right, what we can all see with our own eyes. We don't need another vantage point from the video: we don't need to know what happened before.
"The truth of the matter is that no matter what took place, no matter if it was a counterfeit $20 bill. That is never, ever worth the cost of a human life. So I don't care about excuses. I don't care about the track record. What we have to do is if we're going to be pro-life, we need to be pro-life."
Arkadelphia Police Chief Jason "Shorty" Jackson affirmed that the city's police department was standing with the community in protest of the actions in Minneapolis, Minn.
"Like all of you in our community and beyond, I was shocked and dismayed at the video last week, showing the death of George Floyd," he said. "In the face of overwhelming challenges in our society, I am encouraged by the fact that all of us are here together, that our community came together, and there was a call to come together and to protest what is going on. ... Many of the officers out here tonight -- three-fourths of them probably -- are not on regular shift. Three-fourths of them called me and said, 'I'm going to this protest. This is our community. These are our people.' They were coming whether I told them to wear their uniform or not. But I hope it is more powerful to this community that we are here wearing our uniform as part of the protests."
Jackson said the acts committed "by these bad policemen in other places damages our relationship with our community."
"The very thought that what has been talked about that members of our community, fear us and fear dying at our hands unjustly is a punch in my stomach, every time," he said. "I'm not saying you should not feel that way. I'm saying, it hurts me that there is a reason for you to feel that way. I do not deny that that reason is there."
City Manager Gary Brinkley admitted that while he is not originally from Arkadelphia, he is proud to call it home.
"We're working to make this a better place to live," he said. "A sense of community allows us to peacefully walk tonight, allows us to speak tonight and show solidarity for the loss of George Floyd, who was unconscionably murdered. As we get older that voice in the back of our head says, 'Are we making this place that we live a better place to live for our children and grandchildren?' We all need to ask that question of ourselves. In Arkadelphia, let us do our part to ensure we're working together as a community, that we're building bridges, and we're improving our community."
Bruce Bell, the vice president of the Clark County NAACP, turned the focus to the children in the audience near the end of the event.
"With all this corruption we've got coming from the top, don't get yourself fixated on the top," he said. "They can't stop you from achieving what you want to achieve. School is getting ready to start. Get your minds on school."
Local on 06/04/2020