Unlike many racial justice protests across the nation over the past week, Saturday’s march and rally in Starkville came and went without any violence or arrests.
Unlike past marches and other special events in Starkville, it also happened without a city-issued permit.
Organizers worked with Mayor Lynn Spruill and other city leaders to try to obtain a permit on short notice, since planning began June 1, but they could not secure an insurance provider, partly because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and largely because some of the protests nationwide have resulted in destruction of property by rioters, while others have been escalated by police aggression.
Spruill said the event has prompted the city to take another look at its special event permit process.
“We’ll see that it doesn’t allow for some unfettered First Amendment exercise opportunities,” she said. “We need to look at that differently, and I intend to do that, because I think it’s appropriate for us to make sure that we do not constrain First Amendment rights but at the same time meet the needs of the city.”
Starkville’s first LGBTQ Pride parade two years ago — for which organizers fully completed the permit process, including securing insurance — was initially denied a permit by a 4-3 aldermen vote. The parade later received a permit with a 3-3 tie broken by Spruill after Ward 3 Alderman David Little abstained from voting.
That second vote came after Pride organizers filed a federal lawsuit against the city that has since been settled.
The key difference between Pride and the racial justice protest, Spruill said, is the latter was a “spontaneous reaction to national issues.” All 50 states saw protests after George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, was killed by a white police officer on May 25 and a video of the incident went viral.
Pride also included an event at Fire Station Park, while the racial justice march ended with a rally at the Mississippi State University Amphitheatre, outside Starkville city limits.
Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk said the city’s adjusted special event policy should be “turned around quickly” and support events that do not threaten public safety.
“While there may be a short period where (Saturday’s protest) sets a precedent, I think very shortly we will have another process for events like this,” Sistrunk said.
Sistrunk and Spruill agreed that groups with methods deemed dangerous should not be able to take advantage of the city’s willingness to support freedom of speech and assembly, but they both said the city would have to evaluate those potential situations on a case-by-case basis.
“It’s not about the message they deliver, but (whether) they’re asking for something with the potential for compromised public health and safety,” Spruill said.
Carver: March should have gone through ‘proper channels’
But Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver said he believed the protest should not have happened without a permit or an insurance provider, though he understands why it did anyway.
“I think it was allowed to happen to relieve pressure within the community and to allow individuals the proper process to vent frustration over police brutality nationwide,” he said.
Carver also said the situation was a one-time occurrence and does not set a precedent for future groups to hold rallies or marches “without going through the proper channels.”
He noted that Ward 6 Alderman and Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who is black, said Tuesday he would have voted against granting the protest organizers a permit because he did not want to make an exception for any group, in case of a future legal problem or other groups asking for an expedited permit process as well.
Perkins did not respond to calls from The Dispatch requesting comment for this report.
Carver commended the protesters for remaining peaceful, and Sistrunk said the city learned from both Pride and the racial justice protest “that these things can be done and be very positive experiences.”
Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said he and the protest organizers were in constant, “strong communication” for the six days it took to plan the event, which generated a larger turnout — in the thousands — than either the organizers or the police expected.
“The hard work of planning and communication from (both) our department and the organizers helped facilitate an event that made Starkville rise above many other communities that have wanted the same discussions,” Ballard said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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