Standing together
Black Lives Matter march peaceful, calls for unity
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Anna Theresser Caswell, a member of The Clinton 12, speaks during Thursday night’s Black Lives Matter march in Clinton. - Tony Cox
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About 185 people gathered at the Clinton City Football Field to rally for Black Lives Matter Thursday, June 11.
Marchers walked from the football field to Clinton Middle School — the site of the former Clinton High School that was bombed when the school integrated in the 1950s.
Standing behind the marker honoring The Clinton 12 — the first black students to attend a white public school in the south —they spoke.
Organized by Trevor King with Black Lives Matter and joined by numerous churches in Anderson County — the rally was a call for justice.
Marchers chanted “No Justice, No Peace,” and “Black Lives Matter” as they walked up Hicks Street from the football field.
But they were not shouts in anger — they were shouts to be heard.
And the rally was for togetherness.
Many of the nine listed speakers thanked the Clinton Police Department and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office for the help received in making the march a peaceful event — and for helping some speakers get around in a golf cart.
Robert Willis Sr. thanked Clinton Police Chief Vaughn Becker for giving him a ride, and said, “We struggle together. We work together. We pray together. We sing together. And we vote together.”
Another speaker said “Black Lives Matter” does not mean other lives don’t matter. It means, “Black Lives Matter, too.”
“As a community we stand together,” Leonard Cain said. “When we know better, we do better.”