‘My independence day.’ Winchester group holds ‘silent’ march to mark Juneteenth

Masked protesters marched in rows of three, quietly moving along the downtown streets with signs calling for racial justice and equality.

Friday’s Winchester protest, Together for Justice, was a bit of a departure from the protests of the past weeks in large cities like Lexington and Louisville, which have been saturated with crowds, chants and commotion.

Put on by Better Together Winchester, the “silent” march from the Clark County Courthouse to Heritage Park attracted about 100 total participants.

One of Together for Justice’s organizers, Mary T. Yeiser, said that the march was advertised as “silent” for health and safety concerns in light of continued COVID fears.

“The word is that speaking, chanting, singing just spews germs,” Yeiser said.

Better Together Winchester was founded in 2017 to allow members of the community to educate themselves about systemic racism and work to bridge the racial divide within the city. Yeiser said it was created after a report conducted by the Harwood Institute found that while there wasn’t necessarily racial tension in Winchester, there was still a divide that needed to be addressed.

During the past weeks of protests, the organization decided it needed to organize a local event. They intentionally planned the Together for Justice march on Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of Texas slaves in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Several protesters’ T-shirts read, “Juneteenth is my independence day” and “free-ish since 1865,” referring to the holiday’s significance in African-American culture.

Rev. Marvin King of First Baptist Church and Rev. Ronald Burns of Corinthian Baptist Church led the march alongside Yeiser.

Reverend King said he thinks it’s important for the faith community of Winchester to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I think that America and our local community, there has to be some examples of reestablishing and refocusing the moral compass of our society. I believe that happens in communities of faith,” King said. “It doesn’t mean that we have to push our faith on people, it just means that we extend the love of Jesus Christ wherever we go through our local communities.”

King said he hopes that the march builds relationships and fosters communication among community members so that systemic change can be brought to unjust policies and institutions.

Rev. Burns echoed this sentiment, saying that if local and global communities come together against racism, they will be a much better places to live.

“We all ought to be treated equally and fairly in this country,” he said. “Treat me how you treat everyone else, and then we should all be able to get along regardless of our race, regardless of where we’re from.”

The march ended at Heritage Park, where a separate organization, the Black Heritage History Commission, was holding a Juneteenth celebration.

Participants stood or sat in a circle while organizers prepared for a religious service. There were tables set up with extra masks, hand sanitizer and Juneteenth-themed T-shirts that read, “If we don’t tell them, they will never know.”

The outdoor mass sponsored by the two groups began at 6 p.m., and included scripture, song and a sermon given by Rev. King.

Before the march began, Yeiser said she hoped that it would be the first of many in the community during the coming weeks and months. She called on people of faith to continue showing their support for this movement.

“We’re not taking a political stance, it’s not a partisan stance,” she said. “This is truly a social justice issue and if you’re a believer in the Almighty, it’s what the Almighty is calling us to do.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 9:38 PM.