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Khalil Gay, a participant in last weekend’s protest in downtown Henderson, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Gay said, “people of all creeds, colors, ages and dispositions” gathered downtown on Sunday, May 31, 2020, in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died during an incident with law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.

While not an original organizer, Gay said he and his peers wanted to be among the first to arrive in order to set the tone for a peaceful protest.

“The last thing we want for our community is to continue the stigma of negativity, violence and crime,” stated Gay. “We wanted to show people that there are young black men that care about our community and that want to see everybody come together and thrive.”

The participation of local law enforcement and elected officials in Sunday’s protest went a long way in facilitating conversation on community relations, said Gay.

“Lt. Jessica West, Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow and Rev. John Miles came out there to have a conversation, and I was so appreciative,” Gay said. “That’s what we all want – we want understanding and conversation. They were willing to stand with us and have that conversation.”

According to Gay, “conversations focused on the prevalence of racism in the community and ways to put an end to systematic racism and prejudice, in general.”

Gay was pleased that the protest remained peaceful and said the event was just the beginning of the larger task of improving community and race relations.

“People say the protest was a great start, but where do we go next? Now we have to think about what we actually want in Henderson. A lot of people are saying police brutality has never been a problem for us here, so then we need to be able to improve community relations. I feel like my job is to step up to the plate, have the conversation with our elected officials and tell them what we as a black community want from them – what can be done, not only to make us feel more included but to feel more protected and feel safer in our communities.”

Gay said he has begun that process by attending Monday night’s Vance County Board of Commissioners’ meeting to discuss the protest. He said he plans to continue to attend additional Vance County and Henderson City Council meetings to learn more about the process and to represent the black community.

At the Commissioners’ meeting, Gay had a conversation with Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame who had positive things to say about the experience on Tuesday’s edition of Town Talk.

“It was very interesting for us to hear from young people who are concerned about Vance County,” said Brame. “He [Gay] was saying ‘Hey, we’re not going to let people come in Vance County and tear down our city and our county. This is where I was born and raised.’ He was saying ‘we are not going to let that happen.’ We told him that if you say that, we are going to stand beside you; we’re going to stand with you in unity.”

“Ultimately, I feel like the power is in the people,” Gay explained. “We don’t understand that our government, police and elected officials are there to serve us. If we don’t let our voices be heard, if we don’t vote and research before we vote, if we don’t attend city council and commissioners’ meetings, if we don’t find out who our sheriff and police chief are, we will be lost and won’t be able to make real change.”

Gay is a 2019 graduate of Vance County Early College High School, a tutor at Vance-Granville Community College and a hip hop artist who describes his music as “positive and reflective.” You can check out his website at www.2flykng.com.

To hear the interview with Gay in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.