About 150 to 200 people marched down Warrenton’s Main Street June 10 to decry police killings of black people across the U.S. and share a message of reform.

The march was organized by a regional group called Stand United. James Jones, of Wright City, one of the organizers, said racial bias in policing is a problem in many places, including Warren County.

“This should have been dealt with years ago. We just want to be looked at as equal. We want to be respected,” Jones said. “If we get pulled over, we want to be looked at as respected, not as a criminal all the time.”

Added fellow organizer Justin Mathis: “We’re trying to unify everybody. There is a division, especially in communities like this that are more rural. Everybody does kind of side-eye somebody that’s not white.”

But looking at the demonstrators who came for the march, Mathis commented they were from a mix of races, ages, and economic backgrounds.

“We just want everyone to come together, unite and help change the injustices that we’re facing,” Mathis said.

Despite the fears of some in the community, the march was conducted without incident. It was organized in advance and coordinated with local law enforcement agencies, who closed traffic on Main Street for about an hour.

Shouting the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two black Americans recently killed by police in the U.S., and reciting chants against racist policing, the demonstrators marched to the west corner of the Warren County Courthouse. There, they knelt quietly as Mathis called on demonstrators to become politically active and change their government.

“We need your help to get (this) message even higher, even further,” Mathis said. “We need those people sitting in Jefferson City to actually listen to us and pay attention. How do we do that? We vote, we demonstrate, we get our message out.”

The Record spoke with several groups of demonstrators, who were a mix of local residents and visitors from nearby counties.

“This has been happening for so many years to the African American community, and it’s time for a change,” said Teranza Muex. “401 years of not being able to breathe. Now we will breathe. ... People are tired (of it). Not just African Americans.”

Two Warrenton residents, Viktor Edwards and Matthew Christopher, said they came to show their support because they’ve seen discrimination firsthand.

“As a gay person who has family who are of color ... I’m used to being discriminated against. I’ve had violence against me, and I’ve witnessed it with colored people,” Christopher said. “It’s not fair, and it’s not right.”

Edwards added that past moves toward equal rights have still left a justice system that treats black people more harshly.

Russell Harris, another Stand United organizer, said protests for equal treatment by police are for the sake of the next generation, as much as this one.

“We want to give the kids a fair chance growing up,” said Harris. “I don’t want them to be scared to get pulled over like we are. ... The more we stay silent, it’s never going to change anything.”

Only a few small groups of observers clustered along Main Street to watch the demonstration. Most people watched silently, with a few quiet comments questioning the need for such a demonstration in Warrenton. Several vocal hecklers on one street corner were mostly drowned out by the rallying cries of the march.

Visible law enforcement presence was limited to the officers stationed at traffic barricades along Main Street. Warrenton Police Lt. Justin Unger said officers closed traffic downtown in the same way they would for other events.

Unger said other law enforcement officers were stationed in the area in case of any incidents.

But no incidents occurred during the march, which Unger called a successful event. He said the demonstrators coordinated their march with law enforcement several days in advance.

“I think the cooperation with the organizers of this demonstration and law enforcement worked extremely well,” Unger commented.