Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd

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  • A group of protestors hold signs and chant at a Black Lives Matter march at Durant City Hall on June 9. The peaceful protest drew an estimated crowd of 700 people. Summer Bryant • The Madill Record
    A group of protestors hold signs and chant at a Black Lives Matter march at Durant City Hall on June 9. The peaceful protest drew an estimated crowd of 700 people. Summer Bryant • The Madill Record
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
    Durant Black Lives Matter march draws diverse crowd
  • Black Lives Matter March
    Black Lives Matter March
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The Black Lives Matter movement found its way to Texoma last week as a peaceful protest was held in downtown Durant on June 9. The event drew an estimated 700 people.

The attendees were a mix of all colors and ages. The group displayed unity and there was a palpable mix of tension and unity in the air.

The protestors gathered at Durant City Hall in the early evening. The group was welcomed by Rebekah Bowling, a mother of three from Durant, who was among the organizers of the event.

An opening prayer was done by Josh Eiler before Deana Ward gave a short speech about the History of Durant.

From there, the bulk of the speakers talked about their personal experiences with racism. Those who spoke were Raye Guess, Quinton Jones, Darius Douglass, Craig Andrus, Tyrone Stafford and Joshua Shaw.

The march lasted roughly 14 city blocks including a large stretch going west on Main St.

The march drew onlookers all along its route. While some were curious about the march, others joined in the chants of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”, “No, Justice, No Peace” and “I Am Somebody.”

The last of these chants became a focus of the closing speech by Stafford. The Durant resident and former Southeastern Oklahoma State University basketball player from 1992 to 1996 also read a list of names of Black Americans who have died as a result of police brutality.

The reading took multiple minutes and noticeably dimmed the mood of the crowd.

Partway through the list, Stafford paused.

“Because you do something bad doesn’t mean you deserve a death sentence at the hands of corrupt police officers,” he said. “Like I said, it’s not all police, but we’ve got to make a change.”

Later, Stafford said these types of incidents have affected his behavior.

“I don’t have tinted windows on any car I own,” he said. “I try to keep my nose clean as best as I can.” Stafford said the death that hit closest to home was that of Corey Carter, a former teammate at SE. Carter of Valiant, Okla. died at the McCurtain County Jail in February 2016 as the result of struggle with his jailers.

How it started

Stafford joined the Facebook group Black Lives Matter-Durant after it was founded by Bowling, Carissa Thompson, Casey Armor and Mirelle Hernandez.

“They just reached out and said would you be interested in helping us getting organized,” he said. “I said I would be honored so I jumped on.”

Stafford, who is a former teacher is a mentor for multiple students in the Durant area. He also runs a behavioral health clinic in Durant.

“What stands out the most is, like I said, it wasn’t black people who started the organization, it was white ladies and they were fed up,” He said. “They were absolutely fed up. And they said, ‘hey what can we do to end this foolishness. That wasn’t from the black community even though we were thinking about things. They jumped right on it. That right there tells me we’re probably heading in the right direction.” For their part, Bowling and Thompson didn’t expect the group to grow as quickly as it did. The group currently has 1,795 members. “In the local Bryan County Moms Facebook group, Casey [Armor] made a post after George Floyd asking if we should have something like that in Durant and how it worked,” Bowling said. “I looked up some of the ACLU laws as far as what you need for protested. I started the Facebook group and added ladies as I realized it was getting bigger and it just kinda took off from there.” Bowling said the group did face some early challenges. “There was opposition from white people on both sides,” Thompson said. “Like the people who said Durant doesn’t need this. We don’t have anything like this here. On the other side, we got a lot of the why are you doing this, it’s not your fight.”

Thompson chimed in. “Our black friends and the ones we asked to speak were the ones that said, no we love this we need you. Keep doing what you’re doing. Your voice matters to us as well.”

Jones, who works and lives in Marshall County, said there is more unity around Black Lives Matter than many people realize. “In this part of the world, I’ve been showed a lot of favor,” he said. “But sometimes you can see [racism] in a mindset. Some people see things as some people of color being not as fast or limited in their skills sometimes.”

Jones, who is also a motivational speaker said it was great to see a blended crowd.

“Nearly a rainbow of sorts with people coming together for the specific need for one race,” he said. “That was literally amazing.”