Activists at Columbus ‘Vote or Die’ rally say black Americans still face decades-old injustice
Eight months ago, E.J. Thomas stopped at a convenience store to get an energy drink, fearing he’d fall asleep while driving.
He was still sleepy when he got back to his car, so he dozed off in the parking lot.
“Fifteen minutes later, I awoke to officers with guns drawn, yelling at me,” Thomas told a crowd of about 100 people gathered for a “Vote or Die” rally Thursday at the Columbus City Service Center off Macon Road.
“One yelled, ‘Put your hands on the wheel!’ The other yelled ‘Unlock the door now!’ The third yelled, ‘Put your hands where I can see them!’ Now, I don’t know about y’all, but it’s impossible to do all three of those things at the same time,” Thomas said through a bullhorn.
He said that as he slowly unlocked his car door, a gun was less than six inches from his face. When an officer told him to show some ID, he decided not to reach for it, but to let the police take it out of his pocket.
When the tension eased, the officers told him someone had reported a suspicious black man appeared to be casing the gas station for a robbery, he said.
Telling the crowd he has an autistic son who needs time to process “multi-step instructions,” Thomas asked, “Now what if he had been in the car? … I don’t think he would have made it out of that situation.”
Protests against racial injustice and police brutality are one way to address those issues, he said, but not the only way: “Use your vote as the next step to let the powers that be understand that we will not accept our kids’ going through the same issues that our previous generations have.”
That was a recurring theme at the rally held in the wake of George Floyd’s death May 25 at the hands of white Minneapolis police officers, which has sparked protests across the nation, including in Columbus:
Black Americans whose parents and grandparents marched for civil rights and equal justice decades ago still are confronted with the same issues today.
“My thing today, as it always has been, is let’s not just talk about it, let’s not just march and hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ but let’s go and let’s vote for people who represent our interests, for people who we can have their ear, for people who truly care about the needs of our community,” said Marquese “Skinny” Averett, one of the rally’s organizers.
Suggesting who those candidates are was not allowed, because police permitted the rally to be held right at the steps of the city building housing Columbus’ early voting poll, where no campaigning was allowed within 150 feet.
Supporters who showed up wearing T-shirts endorsing particular candidates were told to either change shirts, turn them inside-out or stay across the street in the Columbus Public Library parking lot.
When a speaker mentioned a particular candidate, Muscogee Sheriff Donna Tompkins warned that was prohibited so close to the poll. When one told listeners they had to ask for a Democratic Party ballot, she told him he could not endorse a political party.
Tompkins said that was her duty as sheriff: Her office is charged with securing voting precincts and enforcing the campaign laws at those sites. “The sheriff has unique duties when it comes to voting precincts,” she said.
Averett acknowledged earlier Thursday that some candidates would attend the rally and might speak, but said it was not his intention to host a campaign event for any preferred contender. “The floor is open to anyone who wants to speak,” he said.
The event was to begin at 5 p.m., but a sudden downpour delayed it for about 30 minutes.
Afterward, about a half-dozen people walked to the center’s community room to vote. Others flocked to food trucks in the library parking lot, where candidates waited to meet them.
Friday is the last day when Columbus residents can vote early in-person 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the service center poll. All 25 neighborhood voting precincts will be open those same hours Tuesday for Election Day.
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 8:19 PM.