Rasheed Ali, husband and father of three, drove 14 hours from South Carolina to be a part of the NAACP led march to Jefferson City. He said he saw this as a chance to stand up for something that he’s been dealing with his entire life.
“I am getting tired of the same old thing. The only way you can get change is to be in the midst of it,” Ali said.
Ali was one of about 50 protesters marching, Thursday. The protest march began Saturday, and the group has been traveling roughly 20 miles a day. The group is completing the last leg of their march, Friday, where they will end at the Capitol. The group hopes to get the attention of legislators, but President of NAACP Cornell William Brooks said he wants to be clear on the efforts of this protest.
“This protest is peaceful. We represent no threat to any business or any person, or anyone in Jefferson City. Nor do we expect anything in the state Capitol to represent a threat to us,” Brooks said.
Their journey toward Jefferson City has not been an easy one. Ali said they’ve encountered ice and blistered feet along the way. But their biggest setback came Wednesday in the form of a counter protest, in Rosebud. Counter protestors held up signs and made verbal racial slurs as they marched by. President of Columbia’s NAACP, Mary Ratliff, said she was shocked by some of the heckling they’ve received.
“You know, I knew there was racism still present in this country but I had no idea there was so much animosity and hate bottled up in individuals as we’ve seen on this march,” Ratliff said.
But not everyone has treated them this way. Both Ratliff and Brooks said they've had people bringing food, hot chocolate and coffee and even just passer-byers giving them verbal support.
Sheriff Michael Dixon of Osage County Sheriff Department said it’s been a very peaceful event.
“Our experience in Osage County is that it’s been a very peaceful event, we’ve not had any incidents,” Dixon said.
The group is expected to reach Jefferson City Friday afternoon. Their rally will begin at 1 p.m. near the Lewis and Clark monument.
