Police Chief, Students Speak At Middletown Social Justice March

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Hundreds of people, including the town's police chief and High School North valedictorian, attended the Rally For Social Justice/Spread The Love, Not The Hate march Sunday in Middletown.

The march, part of the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest police brutality, was organized by local Middletown high school students and teenagers. Many Middletown high school students and alums also want the district to change its curriculum to teach more African-American history and teach more books by writers of color.

The protesters met at Middletown High School North at 3 p.m. Sunday and marched in a loop around the neighborhood.

Middletown Chief of Police R. Craig Weber walked with the protesters and spoke at the event (he had been asked to speak by the march organizers).

"It is critical that we in law enforcement acknowledge the crisis of confidence in policing and strive to earn the public's trust," said Chief Weber in part of his remarks to the crowd. "We need to be responsive to these concerns. Perception is often reality for many, and if any segment of the community lacks faith in the legitimacy of the police it undermines our ability to function effectively and accomplish our mission to protect the community."

"As President Obama remarked, whenever any part of the American family feels it is not being treated fairly, that's a problem for all of us," continued Weber, to claps from the crowd. “We need to be able to have a thoughtful, open and honest national conversation about these issues, that is guided by constructive dialogue, mutual respect and conflict resolution. We have a sacred duty and an obligation to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and integrity as we protect and serve ALL of the members of our community in a fair and impartial manner.”

The Middletown police department even had a recruitment table at the march.

Middletown Mayor Tony Perry was also asked by the march's organizers to speak, but he said he is on vacation and was unable to attend. It was main organizer Frank Meade who read a statement on Perry's behalf. Several others spoke and — to cheers from the crowd as she took the stage — Middletown North valedictorian Jada Tulloch gave the closing speech.

"I've lived in Middletown my whole life. Growing up here as a person of color with a mixed Chinese and Indian mom and a black dad, I've not only experienced racism myself, but I've seen and heard so many others suffer from discrimination here, too," she said. "Just for looking, loving or believing differently."

"One experience that really stuck with me took place in my seventh grade health class," she continued. "I was doing a group project covering HIV/AIDS and one of the students in my group was someone who had made racist comments to me before. This person took the other kids in the group aside, looked at me and whispered to them loud enough for me to hear that because I was black, I was from Africa, I had AIDS and everyone should stay away and not talk to me. It really got to middle-school me."

Tulloch said that when she went on to high school, she would routinely hear kids casually "saying the n-word" in the hallways of Middletown North.

"It always took me back to that moment of humiliation," said Tulloch, who will attend Columbia University this fall. "For a long time I hesitated to speak out because I was scared. I was scared to offend people, to be perceived as this angry black girl .... Middletown is home to some of the best people I know, but there's also a culture of bigotry and ignorance that resides here ... Middletown is definitively not perfect and it can and must do so much better."

Tulloch called on all Middletown residents, from teens to adults, to call out casual racism when they see or hear it.

You can hear all the speakers in their entirety here:

The march went from High School North to Tindall Road to Park Avenue to East Road and back to the high school, where they met in the North parking lot to hear guest speakers.

There was some confrontation between those marching and residents from homes along the route, according to Mike Morris, the man who writes local news blog Middletown Mike.

"I could not walk the route, but I was there for the send-off. From what I understand the marchers were met with a mixed bag along the route," said Morris. "The houses across (from the high school) had its residents out in front yell 'All Live Matter' and 'Go home, we don't need you' and waving a flag."

"I was told that more racist and derogatory comments were made along the route," he said, but did not elaborate.

Morris estimated there were 300-400 people there, while Middletown police put the number at 150.

Overall:

"It was all very respectful and peaceful," said Morris.

This comes at the same time, nearly 700 (and counting) people have signed this open letter asking Middletown public schools to change its curriculum to teach more about racism and oppression, and Jada Tulloch, the recent valedictorian for Middletown High School North talked publicly — for the first time — about the years of racism she said she endured growing up in Middletown.

Related: Hundreds Ask Middletown Schools To Begin 'Anti-Racist' Curriculum (June 19, 2020)

Middletown Valedictorian: I Survived Years Of Race Discrimination (June 11, 2020)