Tuscaloosa, Alabama SCLC to Host Protest Against Gun Violence July 15

The Tuscaloosa branch of the civil rights organization Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) will be hosting a protest, Thursday, July 15, 2021. This protest will be against gun violence and will be held at Snow Hinton Park at 6 p.m.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Tuscaloosa President, Pastor James Williams, said that the protest is important because we need to “come together and unite together to stop the gun violence.”

There has been an influx of violence in West Alabama over the past several months. This increase in violence even spurred elected officials to speak out about the situation. The Tuscaloosa Thread reported in June that elected local leaders are fed up with the influx of gun violence and want to seek long-term solutions for keeping our community safe.

“The City is all-in with its efforts to fight crime. Whether it is fully supporting TPD or significantly investing in the recommendations of Project Unity, we will do more," Maddox said in a June interview with The Tuscaloosa Thread. "However, we can’t do this alone. Federal and state partners can help by taking action to slow down the proliferation of illegal guns on the streets. Faith-based, social service and community agencies can target our most vulnerable youth and communities. Individuals who know something bad is going to happen must say something. We all share a responsibility moving forward, so let’s get to work."

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Williams talked about the murder than happened over the 2021 Memorial Day holiday weekend at Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa.  As reported by the Tuscaloosa Thread, a 21-year-old was shot in the park while next to him was his infant son.  Overall, Williams wants to “encourage the young people to put the guns down.”

For more information about the protest, check out the Tuscaloosa chapter of the NAACP's Facebook page.

In 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was “founded in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and advocated confrontation of segregation through civil dissent.” According to National Park Service, “the organization quickly moved to the forefront of the civil rights movement.”

(Source) Click here for more information from the National Park Service.