By Thomas Sellers Jr.
2019 Millington Central High School graduate Essence McKinney took possession of the bullhorn and led the march from the grounds of the 901 Church to begin a journey of awareness to her hometown.
Since the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Memorial Day while in police custody, the nation has been rocked by protest, some rioting and even looting. But for the past few days, more peaceful marches like the one that took place in Millington Saturday have dominated the narrative.
“We’re here today to spread awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest against police brutality,” 19-year-old organizer and MCHS graduate Jaqueline Alaniz said. “And to remember those who we’ve lost, black brothers and sisters we’ve lost to police brutality. It’s also to be here for our black brothers and sisters to give them a place where they can speak their minds and their voices so they can be heard.”
The word about the protest in Flag City was heard quickly through social media. The hashtag BLACKLIVESMATTER Millington Protest spread even to the Millington Police Department with Chief Mark Dunbar issuing out patrol cars to guide the march
Alaniz, who is of Hispanic heritage, was joined by her friends and classmates Hannah Oglesby and Emily Fail.
The two white 19-year old MCHS graduates were heartbroken by the viral video of Floyd being suffocated by the knee of Derek Chauvin for nearly 9 minutes. Other recent incidents involving blacks dying during interactions with law enforcement motivated Oglesby to shake up her hometown.
“Our first initial reason to do this in Millington, the City of Millington has not spoken out at all,” she said. “The School Board hasn’t. Nobody from the police department has. The mayor hasn’t.
“Nobody in a position of power from Millington has spoken out on the matter, sending condolences or support out to the black community from Millington,” Oglesby added. “We wanted to come out and show the black community here does have support, people who care and people who do want to fight for what’s right for them.”
The halls of MCHS has been one of the most diverse places in Flag City for decades. It was that type of environment that inspired Fail to rally her alma mater and other residents of Millington for the cause.
“Going to Millington High School and being friends with so many people who had different lives than me, in my whole life I’ve moved around and lived in so many different communities,” she said. “From the day I was born and the way I raised, I’ve known you can’t judge people based on how they look. One of my favorites things to say during all of this, ‘We all bleed red.’
“On the inside, we’re all the same no matter what,” Fail continued. “At Millington Central High School, we’ve all supported each other no matter what differences. We were all a big family. In the end we all cared about each other.”
Alaniz said the city of Millington family is hurting right now because a portion of it isn’t being heard at the moment. She hopes the protest and rally will be a push in the right direction for positive changes.
“More than anything, we want to let our black brothers and sisters in this community be heard,” she said. “To let people know they are angry and hurting. So many people are upset. I feel like in Millington, a lot of people of color voices are belittled.
“I feel like ever since Millington became an independent school system, there has been less people of color in their classrooms,” Alaniz concluded. “Because of that, the racial ignorance has been more prevailing. People are so afraid to speak on it because their voices are belittled. As a person of color, my voice is being belittled. I know black people’s voices are being belittled even more. We just want to give them this chance to speak. Let their voices be heard so they can speak on it.”
