With their arms locked together, the parents of VonDerrit Myers Jr. and Cary Ball Jr. – both young black men who were killed by police – led about 500 people in a march through South St. Louis City on Saturday, August 8.
The march was held to remember Myers, who was 18 when he was shot to death in the 4100 block of Shaw by St. Louis city policeman Jason Flanery on Oct. 8. Myers’ parents, Syreeta and VonDerrit Myers Sr., were surrounded by other families who lost loved ones in police shootings. Throughout the march – which went from VonDerrit’s memorial site to the South Grand business district, the families leaned on each other and chanted in unison, “No justice, no peace.”
“I always told him that I wanted to see him become a family man and see what it would be like watching myself all over again,” VonDerrit Sr. told St. Louis American soon after his son’s death. “But unfortunately I feel like I was stripped from that. He was stripped from that.”
He said Saturday’s march was a “movement,” sending a message to the world that their children are being taken by police brutality.
Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce announced in May that Flanery would not be charged based on physical evidence that VonDerrit Jr. had a gun and fired at the officer, she said.
From her Shaw home, Javondra Harris, 28, watched as hundreds marched through her neighborhood, led by a marching band, flag girls and cheerleaders.
Harris gathered five children in her family and joined the march at 39th Street and Shaw Boulevard. She said it’s important for the children’s upbringing to see how you build community.
“It brings us back together and gives us a sense of hope again,” she said.
It also inspired her regarding how she and her family can cope with loss and grief, she said.
“We don’t have to remember the loved ones we’ve lost through the tragedy,” she said. “We could remember them through ways like this and fight for them even though they aren’t here to fight anymore.”
She said the march sends a message to the whole community that “no one is left behind and forgotten about.”
As they neared the end of the march, the crowd chanted, “We’re going to be alright.” They arrived at a “block party,” organized by the activist group Tribe X.
Alisha Sonnier, president of Tribe X, said they held the block party because building that community is an important part of the Ferguson movement. In addition to the DJs and free food, Tribe X also had people ready to inform folks about knowing their rights. As part of Tribe X’s mission, they strive to inform and empower people, she said.
“This weekend there are moments where I felt happy,” like seeing everyone enjoying the block party, she said. “But when I think about why I’m there, sadness hits me because I wish it didn’t take a death to bring us to those places.”
Before the party started, the crowd extended their fingers to the families on stage and prayed to give them strength. The sight brought many – both on and off the stage – to tears.
The Saturday march was part of the Ferguson Commemoration Weekend, which includes the Aug. 9 anniversary of the Ferguson police killing Michael Brown Jr.
“This weekend means we got a lot of work ahead of us,” said Derek Laney, of the Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) which organized the march.
Laney said they have to broaden what they are working for to beyond police brutality. They also must include addressing failing schools and the “prison industrial complex,” among other issues, he said.
“I take this milestone as a challenge,” he said. “We’ve got to keep pushing.”
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