Dozens escorted by the Laurinburg Police Department participated in Long March for Unity and Justice Saturday, taking a 1.5-mile journey from the A.B. Gibson Center to I.E. Johnson Community Center, where the 32nd Annual Kuumba Festival was underway.
Photos by Tomeka Sinclair | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — Chants blared along Main Street Saturday as dozens escorted by the Laurinburg Police Department traveled a 1.5-mile journey from the A.B. Gibson Center to I.E. Johnson Community Center, where the 32nd Annual Kuumba Festival was underway.
The trek was part of the Long March for Unity and Justice sponsored by the Beloved Community Center, based in Greensboro. The center tasked itself with hosting marches from the mountains to the coast of North Carolina that began Sept. 20 in Cullowhee. From there the march continued in Ashville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Northampton and Halifax counties, Greenville, Fayetteville and then Laurinburg. The march ended Sunday in Wilmington.
“The unity that we are building together all across the state, we intend to come back together and then to push for change because we don’t like the direction the state is going. It is too divided, it is too partisan and that does not serve the interest of the people,” said Brigette Rasberry, operations officer for the Beloved Community Center and coordinator for the march.
This initiative — supported by a coalition of organizing partners, including the NC Black Alliance, Poor People’s Campaign, NC Council of Churches and Black Workers for Justice — aims to amplify the voices of all North Carolinians through community organizing, voting initiatives, grassroots education, and art; and address issues dealing with racial and social justice, environmental justice and women’s rights.
Rasberry said the march is the center’s effort to unite organizations and individuals all across the state to counteract the “divisiveness and our fear of one another.”
“It creates a dangerous situation in our communities where people are fearful and they react based on fear and perception versus getting to know their neighbors. We know that is dangerous so what we’re trying to do is to unite the community so that we can really address the issues that are impacting our communities,” Rasberry said.
Rasberry said another purpose for the march was to encourage people to reclaim their power.
“The first thing that people can do in doing that is to vote in the upcoming election, to educate and inform themselves about the things that are important to them and who will have responsibility or who is vying to have responsibility over those things,” Rasberry said. “Know them, know their positions and then make your decision based on what’s in the best interest of you and your family.”
Beyond the vote, Rasberry said those elected officials should then be held accountable.
“Regardless of if we voted for them or not they are responsible for representing us and we have to make sure that they do that,” Rasberry said.
Among the marchers was Jubilee Christians Center church member Ila Davis Massey, who, at the age of 81, believed she was the oldest marcher of the day. The Wagram resident had the opportunity to hold the banner during the march.
Massey said the march was necessary because the county is in need.
“We really need to do this to know what we stand for,” Massey said. “We need it. We need more unity, we need more love, we need more togetherness, we need to keep our schools, our public schools. There are so many things that we need and so many things we’re not taking time to think about.”