Wichita rally encourages dialogue, denounces acts of hate and racism

About 50 people gathered Sunday afternoon in Murdock Park to stop hate and racism.

They sat under the shade of a tree, sang peace songs, talked, worked on a mural and invited people to take the next step in preventing gun violence and racist events such as the Charleston, S.C., Bible study shootings on Wednesday night.

One man wore a T-shirt with the photo likeness of James Reeb, a Wichita minister and activist who was beaten and later died from injuries he received during the March 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Others at the Wichita rally carried signs embracing love, not hate.

“It is a time to unite, think and act,” one speaker said. “Don’t agonize – organize.”

Speakers at the “Break the Cycle of Hate” rally said they hoped the event will spark a community discussion on how to prevent acts of violence.

Be kind, show love and face down fear, said Brandon Johnson, co-founder and executive director of Community Operations Recovery Empowerment, a nonprofit group.

“The events of Charleston have weighed heavily on me as a black man,” Johnson said. “I think one thing we could do as a community in addressing racism is get involved in the community and reach out to one another.

“There may be situations with people who scare us, situations where there are young gang members who do gang violence but where we reach out and say hello. Ask if they are OK. The young man who committed the terrorist act in Charleston – I read one report that said he almost didn’t do it because the people of the church were so loving. They welcomed him with loving arms.”

Carolyn Schwarz, senior minister at Pine Valley Christian Church, told the audience it was time to call for stronger gun-control laws.

“I read on Facebook that the Pinto was recalled after 27 deaths; Tylenol Extra Strength was recalled after seven deaths. I went online to see more recalls,” Schwarz said. “Baby swings were recalled after three baby deaths, Bridgestone/Firestone tires were recalled after 175 deaths. ... But guns are going strong after 37,000 deaths every year. I do not believe the founders of this nation ever intended the amendment on the right to bear arms was to be interpreted as a nationwide Wild West free-for-all.”

Marquetta Atkins took her son, Devon Moon, up to the microphone and asked that Moon, who is 6 feet tall, stand near her. He wore a black-and-white T-shirt that read: “I am not your stereotype.”

“I am an angry mother. I am an angry black woman. I am an angry partner and an angry friend,” Atkins told the group. “Racism is so outdated, so backwards, but that is where we are going. ... It is the same racism that is being used since the 1920s and the 1900s. ... I guess people say if it is not broke, but it is broken. We are broken. How many children, how many men are going to have to die?

“The reason I brought my son up here is that when Trayvon Martin was murdered, that’s all that kept going through my head,” Atkins said, referring to a Florida case in which Martin, a black teenager, was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. “My child is not your stereotype. People who see him will label him a thug. He is potentially a person who could be shot down just for being a black male. This little boy, this young man is a sophomore at K-State University. He has been in the gifted program since he was in kindergarten, but they would have labeled him a thug.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Wichita rally encourages dialogue, denounces acts of hate and racism."