LEONARDTOWN, Md. — Emmanuel Wright was fed up.
A black Leonardtown High School student, he enjoys making music in his free time. Wright got the suggestion to start a protest at the county seat from one of his friends, who pointed out that he should do something about what he had been passionately posting about online: ending police brutality.
He put out a flyer for the event online, and by the end of the week upwards of 1,500 people showed up for the cause at the steps of the Potomac Building. Of course, this event follows a protest that took place on Wednesday, where many people turned out to protest the death of George Floyd, along with racial injustice.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up, but it did… [then] this happened,” Wright said after the crowds dispersed on the night of the event. “As it got bigger, more people were concerned about the safety of the event which is why I cooperated with the sheriff’s office… We sat there, we talked about our plans [and] what the Sheriff could do to make it safer for us. They blocked off the roads for us, got everything done in a crazy amount of time… I really appreciate them for that.”
While both events last week were well coordinated with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office(SMCSO), what made this one different was the organizers, and particularly their ages. While Wednesday’s display was put on by the St. Mary’s County NAACP and the St. Mary’s County Democratic Central Committee(it should be noted that several Republican leaders in the county were also in attendance), Friday’s protest was led by several students just like Wright.
Two Great Mills High School(GMHS) seniors, Donovan Weekley and Taylor Berry, who both serve on the county’s Youth Advisory Committee, helped organize in some capacity and led the walk of protesters alongside Wright. Also, a large portion of the crowd who showed up to walk down Hollywood Road and around the corner towards Ledo’s Pizza appeared to be from that younger demographic.
“Keep continuing to spread awareness,” Wright said. “I want [people] to keep in mind that posting what’s going on is not enough. You have to do things like I do, maybe not on this big of a scale, but go out of your way to go out and protest — don’t be part of the looting — but go out and protest, voice your opinion…”
Some other voices who could be heard throughout the evening leading in chants such as “I can’t breathe” or “no justice, no peace,” included Angelo Ennis, a GMHS graduate from the class of 2006 who showed up to both Leonardtown protests last week.
“It’s that time… we’ve been fighting for a long time, long before this,” Ennis said with chants of “Black Lives Matter” ringing out behind him. “I have been silent long enough, and I just feel in my heart of hearts that it’s time to see change and I am putting that responsibility on me. In order for there to be a massive change, it has to start within and then start at home in your community. I feel like in this community I can have an influence, I can have an impact, and I want to do that… Anything that I can do, not just for my people but for all people. I am here for them. I want to shine light on the truth, and I want change.”
While he offered up a couple of calls-to-action during the midst of the protest, the one that has appeared to resonate the most thoroughly across the surface is going out to vote in November.
“What people need to do is not be afraid of making people uncomfortable… we have to go to our tables, we have to have a seat, and we have to have these discussions at all levels,” Ennis explained. “It’s not just about the police, not all police officers are bad. Not all black men are bad. Not all people are bad. What we have to do as a whole is take action, and it starts with having those conversations… and then we have to follow up on those conversations.”
Some of these conversations do appear to be having some impact, specifically on St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron, who opted to kneel next to the organizers during a moment of silence before the march which intended to honor lives lost due to police brutality.
“I want to commend the youth in St. Mary’s and parts of Southern Maryland for this… This is critically important that we hear your voices,” Cameron said when speaking before Friday’s march.
“We are with you, we support you.”
Contact Zach at zach.hill@thebaynet.com
