Cape Girardeau youths share perspectives on race, local violence during Children's March event

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police May 25 has reignited conversations across the country about racial inequality in America.

Sunday evening at Capaha Park, the future generations of Cape Girardeau voiced their own feelings, opinions and experiences regarding discrimination and racism during a Children’s March event sponsored by St. James AME Church’s social justice ministry.

The event began with a sign-making session and teach-in about public demonstrations, then transitioned into a rally. With about 100 people in the audience, emcee Miara “Mimi” Williams passed the microphone among more than a dozen local children and young-adult speakers.

One of the youngest speakers of the day, 5-year-old Anistyn Roach, approached the microphone and said she hoped everyone would “have a great day” and told the crowd “Black Lives Matter” before returning to her seat and hugging her mother.

Talia Bowman, 15, described her own feelings about her 5-year-old sister’s desire to have straight hair. With her older sister, Tiana, standing at her side, Talia encouraged those in attendance to value themselves and confront those who belittle others based on appearance.

“Every one of your voices matters. Never let anybody tell you different,” Talia said to the crowd. “Every single person’s hair is beautiful, skin color is beautiful, clothes are beautiful. Nothing you have on the outside matters.”

In the middle of the open-mic portion of the event, Williams yielded the floor to the family of Madison Robinson — a 15-year-old Cape Girardeau girl who was murdered in August.

Yameka Robinson and her sister Martez Cleaves both raised Madison together and expressed their desire to see young people speak out against local injustices.

“You don’t normally have kids [Madison’s] age willing to speak out amongst the community because they’ve been silenced by fear. ... I want to speak to the community about us killing each other. We all stand back in this community and watch it happen, and no one is willing to stand up for that,” Robinson said. “As a community — if one falls, all of us fall.”

Cleaves expressed her continued desire for justice in the wake of Madison’s murder and warned the crowd to remain wary of Madison’s murderers and any others with ill-intents in the community.

“It’s a slap in the face because these people are still out here,” Cleaves said. “We are not safe in this community. But with all that being said, justice will be served.”

Despite having expressed a reluctance to speak at the start of the rally, 12-year-old Jaidan “Pumpkin” Matthews settled into a public-speaking role and shared opinions about being treated differently due to her race. Less than an hour later, Jaidan had a megaphone in hand as she led the group of young protesters in chants as they marched around the Capaha Park Lagoon.

After marching one lap as the sun began to sink below the horizon, the group gathered in a circle. The Rev. Renita Green of St. James AME Church urged the marchers to carry the energy of the event with them as they returned to their daily lives, and called for prosecutors to pursue justice for Madison Robinson as the group embarked on an additional lap around the lagoon in Madison’s memory.