In the seven decades Bertie Jones has lived on the eastern outskirts of Wright City, she has witnessed tremendous change.

Despite the advancements in the treatment of minorities, Jones believes there is still much progress to be made when it comes to matters concerning race.

It was a driving force behind her decision to join a peaceful demonstration in her community following the nationwide unrest brought forth by the death of George Floyd and uproar over concerns of police brutality.

“We’re tired of our officers killing our black guys,” said Jones “We’re looking for us to be known just as well as white folks. We’re all God’s children. Color doesn’t got nothing to do with who we are, because we were all born on Earth. We were all born different sizes, shapes and colors. All lives matter.”

Jones joined citizens of multiple races in unity at the Immanuel United Church of Christ last Thursday to help inspire change. Wright City native Jada Nikay, 20, organized efforts locally and says their goal was to show that demands for change can be done without violence and aggression.

“My main hope is that we all can unify and make a change by doing it peacefully,” said Nikay. “We don’t believe in doing unpeaceful protests or getting the message across the wrong way. We feel like doing it the right way, having signs and everybody staying as one.”

Signs along Elm Street declared “I can’t breathe,” and “Justice for George Floyd,” while others encouraged a love and acceptance for one another, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Both Jones and Nikay expressed that oppression seems to be worse for black men than women.

“I feel like for me I really don’t face injustice, but if I were a young black man in society, I feel like I would face some racial injustice of police brutality,” said Nikay. “But because I’m a black woman I probably will not face that as much.”

Jones says she feels a general suspicion persists around behaviors of black people that doesn’t exist with other races.

“If we get a new car, they wonder where we got our money from,” said Jones. “I’ve worked all my life and never been in trouble. I’ve been flagged too, because I bought a brand new car. I bought a house and they wondered where I got my money.”

She also believes there is a stigma connected to which parts of the community one lives in and that Route J has developed an inaccurate negative reputation.

“J Road is a good place to live, but you hear how people talk about J Road,” said Jones. “J Road is not a bad place to live. I’ve lived here for 70 years and never had crime and have gotten along with everybody from white to black.”

In showing understanding for police officers, she believes they are at a disadvantage and not perhaps ready when being dispatched to patrol the streets. She says a call for better training, including deepening the understanding of cultures and ways to communicate effectively could be beneficial.

“Nobody is going to be able to trust the police officers, and they need to make a change,” said Jones. “They were out here to be professional and trained. I feel like half of them are not trained enough, so I feel like they should get a little more training.”

On a local level, both Jones and Nikay say they feel minorities living in communities like Wright City face challenges unique from those in larger metropolitan areas.

“I feel like it’s very different, because we live in a small rural town, which is about 95 percent white people that live here,” said Nikay. “So it’s a very different percentage of African Americans to white Americans who live in the city.”

“I’ve got to give Wright City credit,” said Jones. “We have been a very special, clean environment to live. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”