Lee community protests controversial sign on 25th street
Mykah Smith, a senior sociology major at Lee University, protests against Rick Tyler's campaign in front of the Cleveland Daily Banner on Monday, Nov. 7.
Courtesy of Ignite News
A mobile billboard with the message "Make America White Again" appeared in front of the Cleveland Daily Banner, prompting Lee students, professors and other community members to protest on Monday, Nov. 7.
The sign served as part of the campaign of Tennessee 3rd District Candidate Rick Tyler, an independent politician running for U.S. Congress.
Tyler and his group of supporters also placed smaller signs with messages such as "Deport the United Nations", "Remember the Alamo" and "Daily Banner Supports Racist Groups".
A supporter of Rick Tyler stands holding a Confederate flag in front of the "Make America White Again" sign that appeared outside the Cleveland Daily Banner on Monday, Nov. 7.
Photo by Samantha Shelton
Senior sociology major and Bahamian native Mykah Smith was out shopping when she received a call from a friend about Tyler’s sign. She decided to attend the protest in an attempt to understand what was happening.
“It was just a lot of people, a lot of noise and as soon as you get there you can just feel the emotion, so many different kinds of emotion,” Smith said.
She also saw smaller signs featuring Bible verses and messages about deporting immigrants.
“We see all these signs with scripture verses and things that say like ‘Deport the Muslims’ and something about deport immigrants and I’m an immigrant so like what’s up with that?” Smith said. “We were in the midst of so much hate, so much anger, so much propaganda and brainwashing, because [Tyler] could not have a conversation without spitting some out of context scripture verse.”
Smith met others once she arrived and felt the experience connected to her faith. During the protest she and another woman made eye contact and then tearfully embraced.
“God’s presence was so there and people were so sincere. It was like restorative kind of love,” Smith said. “And I feel like if we can take that restorative love to the places where it needs to be, c’mon man, this world would be such a better place."
Lee Anthropology Lecturer Alan Wheeler arrived on the scene at around 6 p.m. and handed out flyers discouraging hatred before engaging in conversation with Tyler.
“I wanted to make sure that students knew and the greater community knew that just because this old white guy’s spewing sort of racist ideas, not all old white guys agree with him and some of us are interested in changing that old culture,” Wheeler said. “He was using divisive language to justify the division of races, so with that kind of message, especially when people are sort of mingling truth of scripture with divisive and racist agendas, that stuff needs to be separated.”
Despite warnings from multiple friends and colleagues, Wheeler believed he had a responsibility to stop by and speak to Tyler.
“I want everybody to know that there’s an alternative, that somebody else actually cares more about what’s right and that what this guy’s saying is wrong, even if it’s unkind to say, or impolite to say what’s right,” Wheeler said.
Junior digital media cinema student Benjamin McCrea arrived when the crowd was small and managed to capture video and photos of the protest. He posted the video to snapchat and then the Facebook page “Overheard at Lee”, where it gained the attention of the greater Lee community.
“I wish I could’ve recorded the whole thing,” McCrea said. “On ‘Overheard’ I put it there because there were people who were observing the ‘Make America White Again’ sign and they were seeming discouraged and I was bothered by that.”
Wheeler said the protest never turned violent, despite the large turnout of people and collision of ideas.
“It wasn’t violent or aggressive in any way, and no one else was either,” Wheeler said. “Whenever another gospel that is a heretical form of the message of Jesus presents itself, on campus or outside somewhere else, I think it needs to be silenced with a loving, truthful representation of what [God’s] will on earth as it is in heaven.”
Wheeler encouraged college students to be prepared to respond to someone like Tyler by staying informed and participating in sociology, anthropology and global perspectives classes.
“[Students] are in the time zone where you’re actually supposed to take ownership of your own knowledge consumption,” he said. “Speak the truth in love. And there’s nothing wrong with doing what’s right when you know it’s right, even if you may get your head on a silver platter.”
Smith also emphasized her feelings about responding to people with love and empathy.
“If God is love, then we should be constantly trying to shower people with love, find love, give love,” Smith said. “Loving is doing is seeking justice, trying to get peace, trying to be there, trying to empathize with your brother and your sister and just trying to help bring the kingdom to earth.”
