Unity rally in York, SC, draws hundreds, as police promise to earn trust
Andrew P. Davis stood by himself in the parking lot of the York County administrative building Sunday, clutching a red and gold sign that read, “Peace and Justice” to his chest. He was a few feet away from where local leaders were speaking during a rally against police brutality.
A black mask covered most of Davis’ face. Davis, who is black, wore a blue T-shirt and shorts as a symbol of unity — like many in the 300-person crowd — and listened to spiritual leaders, local elected officials and law enforcement officers speak about community trust and accountability in response to the death of George Floyd, an African American man who was killed by police in Minnesota two weeks ago.
During the 90-minute rally, Davis, 70, did not put his sign down.
In front of him, Josh Bovill, the athletic director at York Middle School, spoke at a podium on the stairs of the government building.
“Everything on the TV screen is a reminder...” Bovill said at one point in his speech. He then stopped and started to cry.
“It’s a reminder of how it’s not safe for myself or my 5-year-old son to simply exist,” Bovill said. “And frankly, I’m scared.”
His voice trembled.
“Come on now!” Davis shouted. Davis lifted the sign over his head.
“I’m terrified,” Bovill said. He then went on to say that people who look like him are often judged as criminals at first glance and that communities are unjustifiably treated unequally across America.
But he also has hope for the future, he said.
“I believe that we can fix this because I stand in front of a classroom of 30 students every single day — students full of hope and empathy and love and passion,” he said. “And I refuse to tell them that this is the America that they will inherit.”
“Amen,” Davis said quietly.
York County sheriff, police speak
Sheriff Kevin Tolson leaned over the podium and clenched his hands around the sides of it. Celestial music played as he spoke.
“It’s tough to be here,” Tolson told the crowd. “It’s tough to stand up here and see where our country is at.”
Less than a minute into his speech, Tolson denounced Floyd’s killing. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes in an incident captured on video.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired from the department, and charged with third-degree murder, unintentional second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
“I don’t know of a good police officer who can begin to even understand, or wrap their (heads) around, or justify the act of inhumanity that Derek Chauvin showed George Floyd in Minneapolis,” Tolson, who is white, said. “There is no discussion. There is no thought. There is not an inkling of evidence that showed that that act was at all just.”
Tolson said he felt encouraged that York County residents are engaging in difficult discussions and peaceful protests in response to the incident. He also noted that Sunday’s rally was the fifth protest in the county this week, and not one has turned violent.
“Leadership requires accountability,” he said. “Leadership requires communication. And leadership requires trust. And I’ll tell you, I’ve had some open, frank conversations with leaders in the black community, and I have more planned. And if more accountability is what’s needed to increase the trust of what your community has in the York County’s Sheriff’s Office, then that’s what will happen.”
Andy Robinson, chief of the York Police Department, reiterated much of what Tolson said, and he said the department will do what it can to better serve the area.
“There is no way we can condone what happened in Minneapolis, but there is also no way we can control what happened there,” Robinson said. “We can control what happens here, in our community.”
York residents unite at rally
Many of those who attended sat on the outskirts of the parking lot under the trees, listening from the shade instead of in the hot parking lot. People of different races held up signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “We Care,” as they listened to spiritual leaders, educators and others speak.
Steve Love, the York City Council member and Western York County NAACP chairman who helped organize it, called the event “magnificent.”
“I think that something good is going to come from it, listening to our sheriff and our city chief of police speak, and talk about change and being accountable,” Love said. “That means so much at a time like this.”
Ayanna Gist Brice, who attended the event, said she thought the event was a successful one, and she appreciated hearing from local law enforcement officials.
“I think that that shows that they’re united, and that they support the cause,” Gist Brice said. “They also recognize that there’s a need to hear the community. So even though they feel like they’ve trained their officers and they work by the oath of being peaceful, they know it’s still important that you listen to the cries of those around you.”
Kay DeWalt, who sat with Gist Brice on Sunday afternoon, said she feels as if this event isn’t solely performative.
“I don’t think this was an event that was going to be a one-time deal,” she said. “It’s going to be a continuous effort. I’m looking forward to the future events that come out of this.”
‘A different perspective’
Before Davis left, he knocked elbows with a few people in the crowd instead of shaking their hands. He still clutched his sign.
Davis said Floyd’s killing is all too familiar.
“Jim Crow has come alive,” he said. “As an African American, I’ve witnessed so much of this over my years — violence against African Americans.”
But Davis has hope, he said. The momentum behind the movement feels different this time, he said.
“Every time something has happened at this nature — I don’t condone the looting and the burning — but there’s a different perspective to this,” he said. “Everybody is out marching and it needs to be a peaceful march because that is the only way change is going to occur. Peacefully.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 10:14 PM.
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