Marie Mott with bullhorn
photo by Joseph Dycus
Two days of “rest” preceded one of the more eventful days in what has been almost two weeks of demonstrations in Chattanooga. Like many other cities around the country, the protests were started as a reaction to George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis. Hundreds filled Miller Park before the rally, including Dwight Smith and the NAACP. Set up underneath a tent of sorts, Mr. Smith and a few other members of the organization were giving people the opportunity to register to vote.
“Everything in society that we do stems from voting,” said Mr. Smith. “If you vote, you have a voice, and whatever happens in the city of Chattanooga, the way to get to the roundtable is to voice your opinion through voting. Know who is in your City Council, your district, your County Commission.”
Marie Mott, one of the faces of the rallies, took the microphone before the march and said a few words about Tuesday’s City Council Meeting. Nearly 150 residents spoke during the seven and a half hour meeting, which lasted until 1:30 in the morning. The common theme of these speakers was their desire to see funding divested from the police department and invested into other parts of the budget.
“That was Chattanooga history, because we’ve never had a shutdown like that,” said Ms. Mott. “People who were so dedicated to the process that they were on the phones till 1:30 in the morning. People can no longer say it’s just us activists, because there were people from all districts supporting us, and who have talked to our representatives about us.”
Cameron “C-Grimey” Williams has also been a key figure in organizing the demonstrations, and he invoked a familiar name when asking marchers to be tranquil.
“We’re asking you to keep it peaceful, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But unlike our ancestors, we are not as passive,” said Mr. Williams. “Our motivation comes from love, truth, and we just want justice.”
One of the first places the group went was the City Council building. Ms. Mott stood at the doorway and shared her thoughts about the city’s proposed 2021 budget, which will have 28 percent going to the Chattanooga Police Department.
“We have people like the mayor and the City Council, who parade around in front of us with their peacock feathers, bragging to us about how they’re not investing in education for our children because it’s not their responsibility,” said Ms. Mott. “How egregious is that, for us to hand over $72 million to the cops, and people are making excuses for not giving money for our children’s education?”
As the march proceeded, there were two near-confrontations. The first occurred near the old courthouse on East 6th St. A motorcycle gang yelled at and taunted the protesters, which sparked a reaction from several marchers. However, the two sides did not come to blows, and the situation calmed down a few minutes later.
And then as the march made its way past Miller Park again, what appeared to be a street preacher and a few anti-abortion activists clashed with the marchers. One of the protesters succeeded in ripping a sign out of the preacher’s hands and appeared ready to fight. A few other marchers restrained the man and de-escalated the situation, while another protester escorted the preacher away from the area and then returned his sign.
The rest of the march through Chattanooga happened without controversy, as the demonstrators walked through the west side of Chattanooga, saying chants such as “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace.” Once the masses returned to Miller Park around 10:00, the crowd slowly melted away into the Chattanooga night.