Voices could be heard throughout downtown Cadiz Saturday afternoon with chants of ‘No Justice, No Peace’, ‘Black Lives Matter’, and ‘I Can’t Breathe’ as a peaceful march made its way down Main Street.
The march started at Trigg County High School and ended in West Cadiz Park with a crowd of around 200. As the march progressed down the road past the Trigg County Justice Center, they encountered a separate group of about ten people chanting ‘All Lives Matter’.
The march lasted about an hour, with comments in the park lasting more than two hours.
Event organizer and Trigg County High School senior Nicara Allen spoke to the crowd about the history of African-Americans in “White America” and shared the stories of how some died due to racial violence. Allen encouraged everyone to be aware of the issue before them.
Former Trigg County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Mary Lander illustrated how systemic racism has been prevalent in American culture. She shared a message to young African-Americans to never doubt their worth as human beings.
Reverend Donavan Pinner of Virginia Street Baptist Church in Hopkinsville asked how school board members and churches could make sure that racism ends in Cadiz and Trigg County.
The march follows the tragic deaths of George Floyd of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Breonna Taylor of Louisville in what many believe to be racially-motivated incidents.
View photos from the Awaken Protest and March, here.
