Protests over slain Fort Worth woman persist with marches, rallies, ‘God is Black’ signs
Multiple events across Fort Worth on Sunday honored a woman who was killed inside her home by a Fort Worth police officer earlier this month.
Among them were a women and children march; a church rally and vigil; sign postings on at least 50 churches; and the reading of a declaration of a “Black State of Emergency.”
At 2 p.m., about 60 people stood outside Fort Worth City Hall for a women and children march in honor of Atatiana Jefferson, who was was shot in her home by former officer Aaron Dean on Oct. 12 after her neighbor called for a welfare check on the house.
Dean resigned two days later and was charged with murder later that day.
The march Sunday was meant to draw attention to violence against women and children.
Deborah Peoples, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, and the Rev. Michael Bell spoke before the march and led the group through downtown Fort Worth.
Peoples held a photo of her family, including her 14-month-old granddaughter, for whom she said she was marching.
“I don’t want her to live in a world where she has to march down the streets saying, ‘If we don’t get it, shut it down,’” Peoples told the group.
Melinda Hamilton, one of the march’s organizers, said the Fort Worth City Council needs to change and that term limits should be enforced in city government.
“In order for Fort Worth to change, we’re going to have to change it ourselves,” she said.
Police officers on bikes, who coordinated with the group’s leaders, blocked intersections to allow the crowd to safely cross streets. The marchers held signs saying, “Am I next?” and “Stop the violence.” They chanted, “Recall Betsy,” “I don’t feel safe” and “Atatiana Jefferson.” One man held a sign that said, “They rarely shoot old white guys like me!”
As the crowd walked, groups eating lunch or grabbing coffee stopped and stared. Outside the Tarrant County Courthouse, where they met up with about 20 more people, a man filmed on his cellphone through the window.
On the courthouse steps, about 100 people listened as various speakers spoke into a microphone.
Daijah Andrews, 18, listed names of people who were shot and killed by police, including Jefferson and Botham Jean.
“I was placed on this Earth to do great things,” she said. “If my life gets cut short at the hands of a white police officer or a cowardly black one, there will be a major price to pay.”
Xander Jamil, 10, also took the mic. He said he wants Fort Worth police to listen to what people are saying.
“I do not feel safe. A lot of people do not feel safe,” he said.
While discussing violence against children, People’s referenced the shooting in Greenville, Texas, where two people were killed and 12 were injured at an off-campus party early Sunday morning.
“We lost beautiful young people, who were going to school and trying to get an education, at the hands of gun violence,” she said.
For some, Sunday’s activities started at 9 p.m. Saturday night. A handful of people posted signs that said, “God is Black,” on about 50 churches, all predominantly white, across the city.
The Rev. Jeff Hood, a local activist and pastor, said he was one of those who posted the signs Saturday night. He said the statement is meant to raise awareness about the oppression and suffering of people of color in Fort Worth. Churches, especially majority-white churches, may pray for the Jefferson family, but “they’re not translating into prayers with their feet and getting from the seats to the streets,” Hood said.
“Persons of color are obviously energized in this city, and white folk just are not,” Hood said after Sunday’s march. His two 4-year-old children played nearby as he explained the meaning of the signs.
“In our faith, Jesus is always located with the marginalized and the oppressed,” he said. “So when I say ‘God is Black,’ what I’m saying is God is not in this space (in the church); God is out in this space fighting for justice for persons of color in this city. And if you’re not part of the struggle, you’re not part of the march of God in this city.”
And for those who may have misunderstood the signs’ meaning, Hood said, “I think that anybody that their initial reaction was offense, I would say that’s the person who those signs were for.”
‘Black State of Emergency’
From 5-7 p.m. at Harvest United Methodist Church, pastors, local leaders, singers, Jefferson’s uncle and about 70 people honored the 28-year-old woman at a rally and vigil.
Lapaca Jefferson, Jefferson’s uncle, said he started a foundation in her name to help others, such as the homeless and people with drug addictions.
“I don’t understand why I’m still here when it seems like all the good people in my family left early,” he said to the people in the church pews. “I don’t understand why I’m still alive. But who am I to question why?”
La’Shadion Shamwell, a city councilman in McKinney, read a “Black State of Emergency Proclamation” in which he said local leaders “have declared war on black and brown citizens by conspiring to kill, injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate” them.
“The state of Texas and its local governments harass and prosecute its minority citizens both in daily interactions and as punishment for speaking out against said institutions,” he read from the statement.
Shamwell first read the proclamation Oct. 16 at a McKinney City Council meeting in response to Jefferson’s death. Christopher Kennedy, the McKinney police association president, said in a statement that Shamwell was “discouraging people of color from visiting the State of Texas,” and demanded he resign, according to CBS11.
A panel of seven people also attended the church rally and took questions from the crowd. The panel included Shamwell, National Director of the South Central Jurisdiction of United Methodist Women Cynthia Rives, iTHINK Solutions founder and activist Bruce Carter, Wrightway Foundation Builds a Better Future founder James Wright, journalist Bob Ray Sanders, Director of Healthy Start Misty Wilder and United Fort Worth community organizer Mindia Whittier.
Pastor Kyland Dobbins closed the vigil as the group, standing in the church pews, lit candles in remembrance of Jefferson.
A National Day of Outrage was also planned in 27 cities, including Fort Worth, for Monday in honor of Jefferson. Fort Worth’s protest was planned for 5:30 p.m. at the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office at 401 West Belknap Street.
The national protest was organized by Until Freedom. The group, according to the press release, is a social justice organization “rooted in the leadership of diverse people of color to address systemic and racial injustice.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 9:31 PM.
