Conway protesters responded to nationwide calls on Friday and Saturday to stand in solidarity with Minnesota protesters.
On Saturday at about 9 a.m. local civic initiative Coastal Democracy gathered in an emergency response to the national news of another American citizen shot and killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
With three hours of notice, 40 protesters rallied on the sidewalk of S.C. Highway 544 near CCU campus. Coastal Democracy Founder Todd Madigan described the initiative as a non-partisan group focused on promoting civil democracy.
‘‘We put together a rapid response to let our community know that there are people here unwilling to allow armed agents of the states to pull people off of the streets to injure, detain and kill them. We stand with Minnesota,’’ Madigan said.
Many protestors shared their feelings that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is causing division throughout the country, increasing the need for communities to come together.
Political Science major, Keesha Jones said that any human with a heart should be influenced by what they are seeing happening around the world.
“They’re not looking at the fact that they [immigrants] want a better life and they’re trying to better themselves,” Jones said.
Many protesters became emotional, sharing personal stories on how the ICE policies are affecting their family members, friends and relationships.
Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, freshman marine science major Lucy Mihajlov said the recent violence hits close to home.
“Two fatal shootings were in my community,” Mihajlov said. “Being home over winter break and you’re like ‘oh maybe I’ll go to a protest’ and then they’re like ‘hey they just killed someone a few miles away’ is like, I need to keep doing this.”
Conway locals feel passionate as well. Protestor Trevor Potter said public safety should come first.
“If you believe in the same things we all should, which is the safety of our families and the health of our children and the welfare of this country, then you should all be protesting somebody that takes that away,” Potter said.
Mihajlov agreed, elaborating on how ICE agent identification should be mandated.
“No masked officer should be a thing, that’s not right,” Mihajlov said. “You should have your badge and your number and your name on your uniform like a regular officer. You should not be allowed to have your face covering and no badge should come with a license to kill.”
When asked if ICE orders and actions affect her personally, protester Rene Andersen said it is affecting everyone, whether they realize it or not.
“How can it not be? When it’s become a lawless nation, when the president of the nation is breaking laws and people are getting killed – American citizens and people who are applying for American citizenship – people are getting pulled off the streets by people with masks on and covering their badges. It’s like nazi Germany all over again.”
Andersen shared that she has been protesting for a variety of civil rights over the last 60 years and said there’s still a long way to go.
“I want to live in a country where people can walk streets safely no matter their gender, sexual identity, race or religion. At this point, if you think you’re safe, you’re not, no one is,” Andersen said. The previous day, Friday, members of the community protested against what they feel is an increasing abuse of power by ICE.
Coastal Democracy held a peaceful protest in front of the Horry County Courthouse in downtown Conway on Friday, with 60 protesters in attendance.
Madigan said he organized the protest to educate the Conway community about current mass deportations and to call for justice for Renée Good, an American citizen who was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
With three days of notice, protesters represented a range of ages, backgrounds, genders and races. Coastal Carolina University students reported hearing about the protest from peers or administrators, while others were informed by Coastal Democracy email updates and social media.
Samatha Montogomery, a CCU senior majoring in sociology, said she attended because she felt it was the right thing to do.
“I feel like this is such a small thing that we can do. And just because of that, this is for the greater good, democracy itself. I feel like there’s a bunch of people trying to do good, and I can do my part,” Montgomery said.
The crowd chanted slogans including, “power to the people, no one is illegal,” and “hey, ho, ICE has got to go!”
All protesters felt strongly towards the mass deportations and criticism of President Donald Trump’s leadership.
“I think our democracy is under serious threat,” Madigan said. “There’s a term in sociology, ‘patrimonialism,’ which is the idea that the government is used by the leader as his or her own personal entity … believing that the things that belong to the nation actually belong to you as the patrimonial leader.”
During the one-and-a-half-hour protest, a group of roughly six protesters in favor of Trump’s immigration orders and approved tactics gathered across the street. Both parties remained peaceful, yet verbal insults and multiple slurs were thrown at Coastal Democracy protesters.
One protester said that the protest made her feel like liberal and anti-Trump voices are heard.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m alone, or that you’re in a red state, so you feel like there’s no one out there that thinks the same as you … like no one listens,” Montgomery said. “I want people to just see a crowd of people that are here for that, like they’re not, they’re not as alone as they feel.”
As the rally continued, protesters repeated the chant:
“Love, not hate, makes America great!”
