‘It is a crime to be Black.’ Fort Worth protesters share painful experiences, demands
Kwame Osei’s voice cracked as he told the audience that he fears when his sons do everyday things, like a walk to QuikTrip.
“I’m afraid they’ll never come back,” he said. “It is a crime to be Black.”
Osei, co-founder of Enough is Enough, a group that organizes local protests, spoke to an audience of about 100 about his experience with racism and police. Osei’s story was one of many told at the group’s community outreach event Wednesday at Trinity Park.
The event was held so people could have a space to share their experiences as well as any other thoughts regarding the group’s mission.
On Saturday, Enough is Enough leaders met with Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Police Chief Ed Kraus to discuss a list of the group’s demands. These included removing armed police from Fort Worth-area schools, making officers’ disciplinary history accessible to the public and hosting a town hall with a focus on Black Lives Matter concerns.
The demands will be presented at a work session on June 23 after city attorneys determine which ones are legally possible, a city spokeswoman said.
Osei made it clear that the protests that the group has held for more than two weeks in downtown Fort Worth will continue, but this day was used to educate people as to why protests are needed.
“Don’t think that we’re taking a break,” he said. “This is a necessary step that goes hand-in-hand with the protests.”
He said people need to hear what experiences some have gone through in Fort Worth so they can understand why they are upset and want change.
As Osei continued to tell his story, he told the audience that once he was pulled over with his daughter in the back seat. He said the officer questioned if he was her father.
The officer was looking for an excuse to take him in, he said. His daughter was confused as the officer repeatedly asked her the same question, he said.
“’It’s all right, you can tell me he’s not your dad,’” Osei recalls the officer telling his daughter.
Osei said it’s hard being put in a position where there can’t be anything said because of the fear that he wouldn’t make it home to the rest of his family.
Marquelle Cooper told listeners about how she led a peaceful protest in Azle, a city where she could count her fellow Black high school students on one hand. Cooper wanted to do more but city residents and police intimidated her and made her feel unsafe, she said.
She said for there to be change, peaceful protests must continue. She believes that when protest leaders and ones they care about are targeted, it’s done to incite violence from peaceful protesters.
Amber O’Dell, an Enough is Enough member, told the crowd she will submit a proposal to the city asking it to put a memorial of Fred Rouse, the Black man lynched by whites in Fort Worth in 1921, in the place where a Confederate marker once stood outside of the Tarrant County Courthouse.
Rouse currently has a memorial at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, a museum that recognizes victims of lynching.
O’Dell was met with cheers and applause as she told the crowd about her proposal.
In the crowd was Keller resident Shawndre Cheatham, who said he wanted to hear about different experiences. He said he’s attended two protests and believes that this event could serve as a unifier.
“The more unified and solid we stand on this issue, the better chance we have of getting it fixed,” Cheatham said.
He said an event like the one Wednesday can raise awareness and can turn into a vote for change.
Enough is Enough member Seychelle Leake reminded people what they mean when they say “defund the police.” She said they don’t want to abolish the department, but instead redistribute funding into the community.
“In other words we want less [police],” she said.
If there was one thing the audience could take away from the event, it’s that there needs to be change, Osei said.
“We just want to improve our city,” he said.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
