CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Over the past eight weeks, a group of demonstrators has stood along the side of Wilma Rudolph Blvd. in front of Governors Square Mall to draw attention to important issues in the community and hopefully bring change.
Group organizer, Maurice Stegall, said they are holding a peaceful protest in an effort to spread love, happiness and joy. Stegall said a lot of people don’t understand why we are standing out here.
“Our mission is to put unity back into the community and we’re going to do it through peace, love and unity. I’m standing for equality and justice for all, fighting all of the good battles for what’s right,” said Stegall.
Stegall said some of his goals are to bring equality and justice to all people, end police brutality and bring awareness to harassment and sexual assault in the military, adding he spent years behind the scenes working with youth and music, but after the George Floyd incident he said he felt he had to step out front and show people that we can’t give up.
“People are so used to a protest lasting a week or two and then everything going back to normal, we have to apply consistent pressure,” Stegall said.
With the recent pandemic and everything else that’s going on in the world Stegall described it as, “a coal situation and in order to turn it into a diamond you have to apply constant pressure, so that’s what we do out here every day.”
Stegall invited those who don’t understand what they are doing to come out and talk with him, promising to explain everything which he believes will help change and ease a lot of people’s minds.