2020 has been an emotional rollercoaster. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, a recession and the black community is still facing inequality in America. Yes still. We again had to watch the killing of an unarmed black man at the hands of police officers. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, was forced on the ground by an officer with his knee on his neck for almost 9 minutes which ultimately led to his death. Protests have been erupting all across the world calling for justice and the arrest for all four officers involved in the murder. Since then the four officers have been arrested and charged. Still we still have a long way to go until we reach a conviction.
In Columbia, SC multiple protests have taken place in front of The State House and the Columbia Police Department. We also have our black men stepping out to change the narrative and show America what black excellence looks like. On Sunday, June 14th the Million Man March will be taking place. This will be a recreation of the historic event of October, 1995. People will gather at Martin Luther King Park to walk through the downtown area to The SC State House. The event has been getting national attention as Jones also had an interview with the New York Times this week.
I met with one of the organizers of the event, Leo Jones also known as C. Metro, to talk about the upcoming event and everything going on with the world today. Jones is an award winning photographer and part of the group ROAN, Rise of a Nation.
I started off the interview by asking how he was taking care of himself mentally and how was he managing to stay positive with everything going on right now.
Jones credits his team for helping with keeping him positive throughout the planning of the event. Although he may be the visionary of the event. He gives credit to the large amount of people that have come together to bring it to life for the community.
How did this event come about?
Jones did participate in the first protest that occurred in Columbia on May 30th at the State House and even spoke to the large crowd gathered. The protest that occurred was peaceful and people were gathered there for the cause. As the day went by the protest did make its way over to the police station where some rioting did occur. This part of the protest did get more coverage on the local news along with the 6pm curfew that was enforced for the downtown area. This is the same scene that has been happening in other cities such as Charlotte, Atlanta and LA, just to name a few.
Seeing the increased coverage of rioting and looting minus the peaceful protest encouraged Jones and his team to change the narrative. Jones says he wants to bring people to have a good time and bring the community together with something different. He states that they are tired of crying. There will be speakers to come out to the event including Mayor Steve Benjamin but didn’t want to reveal any other speaker information before the event.
Women are also encouraged to come out and support.
What does the black woman mean to you?
The event is called the Million Man March but women are highly encourage to come out and join the march. I asked this question only because we are also focusing on how black women are also subject to facing injustices from the system hence, Breonna Taylor. The officers in her murder still have not been arrested but the case has been reopened.
Jones believes that black woman don’t get the credit they deserve. We need to protect them at all costs and if we don’t no one else will. For the march the symbolism of having women of color marching with us is powerful. Collectively as men we don’t protect them, we don’t stand up for them and sometimes don’t speak on things regarding them and that’s an issue.
By the end of the conversation, Jones asks me, “Do you know how hard it is to be a black man in America?” I went to college, got my degree, open my business and I’m doing pretty well but I’m still an n-word to society. In society I’m still considered a thug and a criminal. Being a black man is like running a race reaching the finish line; someone telling you, you won, but then there’s another finish line. You’re running in a never ending circle. While In this race, black men have to battle racism, getting a job and battling the image of what the black man is.
This event is definitely refocusing the narrative back to the cause and the bigger issues at hand. People are showing up and showing out to make a change that is long overdue.
You can follow Jones on Instagram @cmetrojones for updates on the event if you are near or close to the Columbia area.
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