NAACP to host peace march in Kennett

Friday, June 12, 2009
Joshua Payne

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is sponsoring a peace march in protest of police brutality and injustice on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

The march is being organized by Luetta Pulliam-Wright and will begin at 9 a.m., at the Victory Temple Church of God in Christ located at 921 North Main Street.

According to Wright, the march will be for the civil rights of all citizens of Dunklin County and the surrounding area.

"We are anticipating people for large distances to attend the peace rally," Wright said.

The march will begin at 921 North Main Street and travel down Commercial Street to College Street heading toward the Dunklin Count Courthouse Square.

Once reaching the square, the participants will march seven times around the courthouse with a rally being hosted on the east side courthouse steps. Following the rally, the march will continue from the east side of the courthouse onto First Street, continuing to Walmart, and protesting on the sidewalk on the north and south sides of First Street/Highway 84 in front of Walmart.

The Kennett Police Department has estimated 200 plus participants in the march with an estimated 20 vehicles to be used.

The march application was approved by Mayor Roger Wheeler, Sr., and Chief of Police Barry Tate.

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on dddnews.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

This would be a good time to issue tickets for jay walking.

-- Posted by Getting Old on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 2:45 PM

Have there been recent incidents of police in Kennett being accused of "brutality and injustice" that require a "peace march to protest"? When I watch the news from surrounding towns I think Kennett is one of the most peaceful towns around. Has Wal Mart been involved in such incidents that they deserve to be protested against?

-- Posted by nana05 on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 3:42 PM

Congrats and best wishes to Kennett by having/allowing this march in town. I am so proud that my hometown is finally declaring that it's (Kennett's) days of living, blindfolded in the early years of the last century are behind them and the town is stepping up and joining forces with people world wide that are finally realizing this is the year 2009. Welcome to the real world! We can no longer let the so-called "southern pride" keep us at arms length from helping out world problems.

I hope that many white citizens of Kennett attend this function and support home town unity in recognizing that today's world DEMANDS more tolerance and understanding among ALL races and color. Hopefully this meeting/march in Kennett will set the town up to other nearby towns as an example of "we CAN 'do this'" and teach to make us remember and recall what our fathers and grandfathers set out to do when they founded Kennett/Ely/Butler in SE Missouri many, many years ago.

My thoughts are with all of you that have decided to "take one small step for a small hometown in the South".

Ruth Chambers Holt

-- Posted by Ruth on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 4:47 PM

This "Peace March" is merely an underhanded way of bringing attention to the nationwide effort to pressure Wal Mart employees to join a union. Yet, many stupid people will "march" thinking it's for peace. It's not for "peace," but for a "piece" of Wal Mart's employees' checks to pay unions dues, for which they will receive absolutely nothing in return. The only people to make in money out of this "Piece of Your Check March," are the union organizer, who are masquerading as volunteers?

-- Posted by Skeptisch on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 4:48 PM

Please, this is not St. Louis or Detroit. This is a stupid event!

-- Posted by br549 on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 6:28 AM

So what if this is not St. Louis or Detroit the police job is to serve an protect not use and abuse the people who pay their salary so the next time you get pulled over because you fit the description just say this is not St.Louis or Detroit

-- Posted by disgusted 3 on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 10:13 PM

Moving 'forward' and in today's world was proven today.

Kennett should be proud that this march WAS allowed and did happen, and it happened WITHOUT any "incident". It just goes to show that Kennett is moving with the times;this demostration/march WAS allowed and nothing bad came out of it (the march today).

I am glad it went over without any problems (at least I have not heard of any problems or negative reaction) and the city went about their weekend/daily business as usual just as other cities go about their business,in a calm manner. Kennett proved today that is much like other cities throughout the U.S.

One does not always have to "have incidents" to prove a point in exercising common sense...

-- Posted by Ruth on Sat, Jun 13, 2009, at 10:58 PM

I was there, and in reading the above comments it shows me that there is an unawareness of why this protest needed to take place. The events which necessitated this action is an ongoing travesty of injustice Police Brutality spanning a two year period. The victim, a Black female Kennett resident suffered at the hands racist police officers on a Wal-Mart property. FACT not fiction. The subsequent cover-up, official misconduct, character assassination, falsifying public records, blatant threats and perceived buy-offs are issues to be dealt with - not ignored. The law-abiding citizens of Kennett are being dealt a bad hand from the very officials sworn to protect them.

-- Posted by Network Technician on Sun, Jun 14, 2009, at 10:49 PM

I was there, and in reading the above comments it shows me that there is an unawareness of why this protest needed to take place. The events which necessitated this action is an ongoing travesty of Police Brutality and injustice spanning a two year period. The victim, a Black female Kennett resident suffered at the hands racist police officers on a Wal-Mart property. FACT not fiction. The subsequent cover-up, official misconduct, character assassination, falsifying public records, blatant threats and perceived buy-offs are issues to be dealt with - not ignored. The law-abiding citizens of Kennett are being dealt a bad hand from the very officials sworn to protect them.

-- Posted by Network Technician on Mon, Jun 15, 2009, at 12:22 AM