By Rick Sanders, Volunteer Writer
Rogersville is a small town in eastern Tennessee with a rich heritage dating back to 1775. Its citizens are proud and protective of their community, and say they are ready to defend it from any outside agitators who would do them harm. The problem is that no such threat existed, but some local folks showed up at the Hawkins County Veterans Memorial and Courthouse anyway — many armed.
Members of the Sierra Club's Hawkins County Care NET Community Conservation Committee (CCC) had reached out to the Black community in Rogersville for a peaceful gathering planned for June 26 to have "prayer and dialogue" and to discuss social justice. One of the group's members contacted the pastor of Hasson Street Church, which is historically Black. Others reached out to the keepers of the Price Museum, formerly a "colored" school.
It was when Care NET CCC member Guerry McConnell contacted the city to see if she needed a permit to meet at Swift Park that things went strange. Between word-of-mouth from some people at the city and county offices, and social media, the meeting was misconstrued as a planned protest, and the misinformation soon went viral. Many of the locals got upset about what they saw as a violent, disruptive event coming to their community, and the Rogersville Police Department (RPD) was flooded with calls. When the RPD realized that a counter-protest was being planned just a couple of blocks away, they called members of Care NET CCC and suggested that they postpone the event. And they did.
Nevertheless, a crowd of about 300 people showed up downtown for what some of them described as "a show of support for veterans, heritage, and police."
Rumors had abounded that Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters and Antifa were coming into their peaceful community with the intent of defacing the county's veterans memorial. In addition to the police presence, many of the citizens of Rogersville showed up armed. Ironically, no one showed up to counter-protest at Swift Park, the original site for the prayer and dialogue. The pastor of Hasson Street Church gave a prayer and a sermon at the park that evening.
Given the scope and the intent of the original peaceful gathering organized by Care NET CCC, the escalation of fear and unnecessary preparedness for violence from the local populace disturbed members of the community. Although, considering the difference of opinions surrounding protests and events after George Floyd's death, perhaps Rogersville is just a microcosm of our country, amplifying the negative discord between people of different mindsets. Even Hawkins County Mayor Jim Lee made the following statement on Facebook: "I'm not worried about the thugs destroying our town with all these vets out here!" Bobbi Smith, Secretary of Care NET CCC was offended by the "radical language" of the mayor. "Elected officials should represent everybody," she said, "and not attack certain factions of the citizenry as if they were criminals."
Throughout that evening there was much conversation between the assembled crowd and reporters, perhaps because there were no protesters there to counter-protest with. Most statements centered around their desire to protect their town, while pointing out that they are normally very peaceful people. "There is not a racist bone in my body," said a man who had been holding a Confederate flag. "I don't hate anybody, of any color," said another. Those statements and others like them create pause to wonder. If these people have assembled in such numbers, armed, with the sole intent of protecting their community, then why are they bringing up the issue of racism when nobody has even asked them?
Although white people have joined their Black brothers and sisters in protests, especially since the Civil Rights era, the recent BLM protests are getting more and more white support. Indeed, in some of the news videos of BLM protests, sometimes one has to look hard into the crowd to spot Black protesters among all the white ones.
Following the canceled dialogue at Swift Park, Care NET CCC members met with around 50 others from the Black and white communities of Rogersville for a peaceful dialogue July 3. There were no protesters, no media, no police, and no counter-protesters. On July 10, three members of Care NET CCC met with Hawkins County Mayor Jim Lee for an hour to explain what Care NET CCC is and its involvement in this effort.
On July 11, members of the New Panther Initiative of Johnson City/Tri-Cities held a planned peaceful protest for racial justice in downtown Rogersville. Hundreds of people were in attendance including counter-protesters. Some members of each group were armed. Nine of the counter-protesters, six of whom were from out-of-town and part of a group of Neo-Nazis, were arrested. One image stood out—a photo of a Black man reaching over a barrier to shake the hand of a white counter-protester. In that brief instant they shared eye contact, and there seemed to be genuine, unspoken understanding. Overall, the support that people of different races showed for each other in these events was mostly positive, leaving this writer with a feeling of hope.
Contact Rick at artduderick76@gmail.com