Black Lives Matter protesters in Oklahoma dismiss fear to march

Published 2:00 pm Monday, July 11, 2016

Amid similar demonstrations and protests nationwide, Oklahoma City resident Sarah Lilly had multiple reasons to attend a Black Lives Matter march and rally in her city.

On top of showing solidarity and support for the movement, Lilly wanted her 14-year-old bi-racial daughter to share this experience and see a community that seeks justice for all. Following the violence in Dallas last week, in which 13 police officers were shot by a lone gunman and five of them were killed, attending the rally became a much more difficult decision for a mother to make.

In the end, necessity trumped fear for Lilly and the thousands who marched Sunday afternoon.

“It has to happen,” she said. “People have to speak up. We have to move forward.”

The events in Dallas were definitely on the minds of the Black Lives Matter protesters. Adam Curtis, who served in the military overseas before coming to Oklahoma about four years ago, said it was part of the reason he decided to attend.

“Basically, just to see the outcome of what goes on, to see if there’s going to be violence or not,” he said. “I go overseas to serve my country and come home to see black men dying for wearing a hoodie or just being that color.”

But there were no violent scenes or confrontations, save for some angry words exchanged between BLM protesters and counter-protesters, namely a street preacher who followed the group on its march.

The man and his fellow protester, who held an anti-Muslim sign, called the Black Lives Matter marchers hypocrites, spoke out against abortion and repeatedly shouted “blue lives matter,” a statement of support for police. Corey Hidelbaugh, a priest, initially blocked protesters from getting closer to the street preacher before confronting the man himself.

“What was hurting me was he was using my God to tell these people that they’re worthless,” Hidelbaugh said. “To have something so dear to me used in hate, I just can’t handle that. I just had to say my peace.”

Police were present to keep the crowd under control, as they were also there to de-escalate a confrontation outside of a local ballpark between BLM marchers and another counter-protest group flying Confederate battle flags. The intent of the group wasn’t entirely clear, but their presence certainly caused a stir.

Officers asked the group to move to a new location just as a crowd was growing around them. Again, it was incident-free.

“We’ve had a real peaceful crowd so far,” Capt. Bobby Tompkins with the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

In sizzling summer heat, the crowd marched toward the plaza where NAACP Oklahoma City Branch President Garland Pruitt spoke.

“We’re not saying we’re anti-police,” Pruitt said, “but we’re anti-injustice. Any time and every time that we ride down the street, we’ve got to look over our shoulder because we don’t know the reaction of somebody that don’t look like us with a badge. That’s a problem.”

Speakers made sure to point out they understood not all police officers are bad, and that the majority of them are good. The rally portion of the event began with a moment of silence for the victims of the Dallas shooting.

But it was also clear the group desired action to make sure justice is done for that minority of officers who do get something wrong.

“I know it’s tempting in the wake of the gut-wrenching violence in Dallas to not raise our voices,” Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said. “But it would be wrong, however, to allow individuals whose rage led them down a murderous path to put a period at the end of a much needed conversation.”

Similar marches and protests have been held across the country since Alton Sterling was shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile was shot in a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. Castile’s was another to be caught on cell phone video.

Violence has erupted at some of those locations, but Oklahoma City avoided it Sunday. As a result, the protesters strove to get an all-inclusive message across.

“All of our lives matter,” Pruitt said. “We’re looking for respect. Any time you stop us, we don’t care where we’re at, we’re looking for respect. Our concern is when we find you dirty, you need to be prosecuted.

“Every person out here has seen some of these videos of murders taking place. Who are we going to believe? Our lying eyes, or the truth?” 

Troxtell writes for the Norman, Oklahoma Transcript.