SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- A “Peaceful March” for racial justice will be held in South Euclid Saturday (June 20) afternoon, beginning at Bexley Park, 1635 Wrenford Road, and heading south to Mayfield Road.
Councilman-at-large Justin Tisdale, along with residents Artoria Ambers, Mason Caminiti and Dr. Anne Soinski-Caminiti have been organizing the march for two weeks.
Speaking about the planning, Tisdale said, “The committee (organizers) decided that if we had it too soon (after the May 25 killing of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police set off protests around the country) we wouldn’t be able to put together anything properly, and if we waited too long, the message may have been lost.
“So we just wanted to make sure that we had ample enough time to get the word out and make sure our community could get together and rally together.”
The march will leave Bexley Park’s Felton Road entrance between 2:15 and 2:20 p.m. and proceed north on Felton to Mayfield Road, where it will head west. At South Belvoir Boulevard, it will begin its return to the park at its Wrenford Road entrance.
The march is being held with the cooperation of Mayor Georgine Welo and the South Euclid Police Department.
Tisdale said that, as the march proceeds on Mayfield Road, eastbound traffic will be closed to motor vehicles, while westbound traffic will remain open.
Organizers ask that marchers make and bring signs. The first 100 marchers will get a poster board and marker to make a poster they can keep. In addition to the City of South Euclid, march donors include Office Depot/Office Max.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, all marchers are urged to wear face masks.
South Euclid Councilman-at-large Justin Tisdale. (Photo Courtesy of Joseph Pollack)
Speakers at the park will include the Rev. Courtney Clayton Jenkins, of South Euclid United Church of Christ, at 2 p.m.; Welo, at 3 p.m.; Ward One Councilwoman Ruth Gray, at 3:05 p.m.; South Euclid-Lyndhurst Schools Superintendent Linda N. Reid, at 3:15 p.m.; SE-L Schools Assistant Superintendent Melissa Thompson, at 3:18 p.m.; and resident and NAACP member Chanell Elston, at 3:24 p.m.
Also, Brush High School student Brandon McGhee will speak at 3:30 p.m.; Mercedes Davis, at 3:36 p.m.; and, tentatively, Ricky Smith, at 3:42 p.m.
Tisdale said he did not know how many people the march might attract, but added: “I hope to get the community out, and if people from the outside come in, they’re more than welcome. We just want to make sure it’s peaceful and that we are using our voices in a positive way.
“This is important to me, because I want to give our community a safe space to voice their opinions,” he said. “I’m not saying that South Euclid has huge racial issues or huge racial problems with the police, I just feel people need a voice. They’re frustrated, they want to come together, they want to hear one another.
“My focus with this march and rally is that we start understanding, start listening to people instead of trying to over talk and prove that they’re wrong, because if we don’t start understanding people and making sure that both sides are heard and understood -- you don’t necessarily have to agree with them -- but if you understand them, you have a little bit more empathy for them,” Tisdale said.
South Euclid Community Services Director Keith Benjamin said he plans to take part in the march.
“Peaceful protest is embedded throughout our nation’s history, and we support and stand by those in our community seeking to engage and create positive change,” Benjamin said.
“This is a time to stand by each other, recognize and overcome injustices, especially systemic racism and discrimination in our society, and work to grow and evolve together.”
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