Protest leader Michael Smith chants “no justice, no peace” as a blend of black and white protesters follows him on Pine Street.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                A group of about 100 black residents and white residents peacefully marched more than a mile through Bronson Wednesday carrying signs calling for social justice and an end to police brutality in the nation.

            Chanting “no justice, no peace,” they expressed anger and resentment over the suffocation of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who suffocated to death under the knee of a Minneapolis, Minnesota white police officer.

            Bronson Mayor Beatrice Roberts allowed the protesters to gather on a large grassy lot she owns at the intersection of Mongo and Pine Streets. She said the murder of Floyd was nothing new in America.

            She said her late Uncle Charles Green and three other men, two of whom he didn’t know, were falsely accused by a sheriff of raping a white woman. The woman said four black men raped her. A lynch mob demanded justice.

            One of the four men was shot more than four hundred times in the incident, Roberts said. A second man was also murdered. Her uncle, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison. He spent 11 years behind bars before defense attorney Thurgood Marshall, who later became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, freed Green.

            Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis pardoned all four men. Roberts said she and other family members of the four victims were present to witness the pardons of their loved ones. Books have been written about the Groveland Four. The incident occurred in Groveland, Fla.

            Roberts described the murder as commonplace in America today.

            “It’s actually common now. You know, when you see this, it hurts, but it’s common because that’s what they’re (law enforcement) are doing now. It’s everywhere you go,” Roberts said.

            Sending Message

            She said the protesters were trying to send a message.

            “It’s not right. We’re all human and we need to be treated as humans. When you cut one of us we’re going to bleed the same. God’s going to treat all of us the same. Just because your skin is different than mine, there’s not a heaven for you and a heaven for me. There’s one heaven and one hell. We’re going to one or the other,” Roberts said.

            Singer Reggie Stacy, who grew up in Bronson and still calls Bronson home, said he experienced racial injustice at the hands of Williston police when he was a young man of about 21. He said police were looking for an African American man and thought he was the suspect. He said police acted like they couldn’t hear his voice.

            Falsely Arrested Years Ago

            “I said it wasn’t me. They tried to arrest me for no reason; it was not hearing my voice be heard; it was like shut up immediately and never hearing your side of the story,” Stacy said. He was released with injuries. “I got bruises and nicks all over me. I got a black eye. My shoulder got bruises real bad. I was going to take it to trial. We (he and his mother) decided to let God handle it; let the Lord handle it. They did send me a letter of apology. It could have been worse, but I thank God.”

            Stacy said the death of George Floyd affected him deeply.

            “This sickens me. It’s disgusting. We all have to be heard. I was also a victim of those things, but we gather today so we will be heard. Your voice will be heard. Your voice matters,” Stacy said. He carried a sign that said, “Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color. Everybody should be treated equally.”

            David Ortiz, a native Levy County resident who works for the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Alachua, marched with his 5-year-old son by the same name. Both carried signs.

            Ending Police Brutality

            “I’m here because I feel police brutality is a huge issue. It is one of the biggest issues in America today. I’m doing this because I’m here for any person that’s ever been the victim of police brutality,” Ortiz said. “It doesn’t matter when, where or who you are, it’s unacceptable. I believe it’s only been brought to the mainstream because of social media and cameras recording everything. I thank God that’s happening because this could have gone on forever. That’s why I’m here today.”

            Ortiz said he has lived in Levy County since his birth at Shands Hospital. He said it’s a special place to him.

            “It may not be special to other people, but it’s home,” he said.

            He blamed the death of George Floyd on lack of police training.

            “All of that is just poor police training because they don’t know what they are doing. They (law enforcement agencies) will grab anyone that qualifies and then right away they give them a badge and a gun. It ain’t right. There needs to be a tougher process to be a cop,” he said. “We need to pay them more but we need to make sure these are the best top of the line cops that can be out there; then we can trust them. But it’s horrible what happened in Minnesota. If they were decent human beings and had more training and were held more accountable, they would not even have thought to put his knee on his neck like that. It’s horrible.”

            McCallum: Practicing Golden Rule

            Sheriff Bobby McCallum and Levy County Commission Chairman Matt Brooks were on hand to say hello to the protesters as they filed by the front steps of the Levy County Courthouse on their way to the sheriff’s office, their final destination. McCallum waved as they passed. A number of protesters, black and white, hailed the sheriff as their friend. He shot back a friendly hello to them.

            McCallum said the protesters honored their promise for a peaceful march and to remain on sidewalks, not the street. The sheriff’s office, in turn, provided about a dozen officers along the parade route to ensure their safety and to provide a way for them to cross State Road 24 on their way to the sheriff’s office. They returned along the same route.

            McCallum was told by a reporter that many of the protesters talked about police brutality and the history of police aggression. They called for an end to the brutality. McCallum said his officers are given training in human diversity and they are told to practice the Golden Rule from day one.

            “We abide by treating people with respect by the Golden Rule. That’s what all my employees hear when they are hired. They know that. We try to hire those kinds of folks that want to treat others like they want to be treated in any given situation. That’s what we do day in and day out. When we have to take measures and we’re threatened and all, obviously with any law enforcement, we got to do it,” McCallum said. “We don’t condone what happened in Minneapolis at all. It was uncalled for. As a result of that, I was always taught that two wrongs don’t make a right. So as long as these are peaceful protesters in the county, there won’t be a problem. That’s where we are with all of it, so far so good. We’re sure it will stay that way tonight.”

            Levy Deputy Dies Defending Black People

            McCallum said the only sheriff’s deputy in Levy County ever killed in the line of duty was defending the rights of black people. It happened in the 1940s. His name was Haygood Ellzey.

            “He was killed running white people out of a (black) juke joint. The white people were causing a problem. He was trying to prevent them (the black people) from being hurt, trying to do what he was supposed to do way back in the 1940s. That’s the only deputy we have lost and hopefully the only one we will lose, and sometimes those things are forgotten,” McCallum said.

            McCallum said he understands why the march took place.

            “We understand these people today are just speaking; they have the right under First Amendment to assemble and walk on the sidewalks and we’re just trying to make sure they cross major highways safely,” McCallum said.

            Keeping Everyone Safe

            Brooks said this was the first protest march he had ever witnessed and he wanted to be present on the courthouse steps to represent county government.

            “Being here at the courthouse and our county seat, I felt it was important to be here and support a peaceful protest. I’ve never been a part of a protest or seen one either,” he said. “Just glad it went off without a hitch and it was safe like we expected and hoped it would be. It looks like a good amount of folks showed up and were able to exercise their First Amendment right and keep everybody safe and that’s what we’re all about.”

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt June 3, 2020