Unity Rally today on Morgan City Hall steps

Today’s Unity in the Community rally takes on an even deeper meaning after three police officers were shot to death Sunday in Baton Rouge.

Gale Thomas, a member of the rally committee, was sitting in church Sunday when her pastor shared with congregation news about the police shootings.

“We just all began to pray,” Thomas said. “It basically adds fuel to what we need to do. We don’t need to sit back and wait to do something. We just need to let people know that we need to bring change. There needs to be change.”

The rally was born out of a desire to bring people together after the deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota, two black men shot to death by police, and the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers. The rally is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. on the steps of Morgan City Hall.

“We decided as a community that we needed to do something to show support for all those who had lost their lives and bring unity to the community,” Thomas said. Thomas is also African American.

Other concerned citizens of St. Mary Parish are organizing the peaceful rally.

“We don’t want this (violence) to touch our area,” Thomas said. “We don’t want this at all. We pray for every area. But we definitely don’t want to have to experience that.”

Thomas has relatives who are officers with both Dallas and Baton Rouge Police departments.

“It’s definitely not every policeman. It’s not every cop,” Thomas said. “We know that.”

Rally organizers want attendees to walk away from the event intent on making justice and equality a reality right here at home.

“We want them actually to treat us as equals …,” Thomas said. “We don’t want to be looked at as second-class citizens, like people who don’t matter, because we do matter. And we want them to recognize that. Acknowledge that.

“And come together as a community.”

The concerned citizens organizing the rally want resi dents to be informed of their rights and to remind officers of the law to enforce justice equally among all people.

Its focus is to unify residents, community leaders, and law enforcement officials.

“Everybody needs to know what to do and how to do it,” Thomas said. “So, nobody feels disrespected and dehumanized. But everybody can feel apart.”

The message is for everyone, not just African Americans. Police officers are among those who have been invited to come and speak, Thomas said.

Community members have expressed concern about police training and its impact on the communities they serve.

“They need to be trained properly,” Thomas said. “Some things we feel like they don’t need to do in order to harass us as black people because we get stopped for the most minute things and there’s just some things that need to change.

“If you have a broken tail light, they ought to be able to send you a letter in the mail saying get your tail light fix. You have 30 days or something to that effect instead of pulling you over and trying to search your car.”