White supremacists have made several appearances in Nashville over the past few weeks: marching with swastika flags, interrupting a Metro Council meeting and, last Saturday, screaming racial slurs at a group of young, Black boys who were playing drums downtown.
On Wednesday, the boys and their families spoke out about the experience at a press conference, alongside Black Reps. Justin Jones and G.A. Hardaway.
The boys kicked things off with a performance, drumming on big plastic buckets — just like they do on Broadway.
Last weekend, neo-Nazis screamed racial slurs at a group of young Black boys who were playing the drums downtown.
Today, Rep. Justin Jones hosted a press conference with the children and their families.
They kicked it off with a drum performance. pic.twitter.com/M9eODrgmSL
— Rose Gilbert (@roseamgilbert) July 24, 2024
Detonio Wilson, 10, said that they have been playing drums downtown for about three years. Most people just walk by, while some stop to record them or drop cash in their tip jar — money the boys save up to spend on clothes and shoes. But last weekend, a group of neo-Nazis stopped to yell racial slurs.
“We didn’t say nothing to them. They just wanted to mess with Black kids like us, and just mess up our day,” said Wilson.
The kids and their families said that Nashville police officers had previously threatened to arrest them for performing downtown without a permit. And they said, on Saturday, the officers at the scene did not confront the neo-Nazis, instead escorting the boys a block away and telling them to go home.
Nashville Rep. Jones criticized MNPD’s response and has sent a letter to Nashville Police Chief John Drake, who is Black, offering to meet to discuss the incident.
“These are all of our children. We have an obligation to protect them and to address the failure of the adults who were there, who call themselves Nashville’s guardians,” he said. “What were they doing to be guardians for our babies?”
Jones pointed out that white supremacist groups seem increasingly comfortable walking around Nashville wearing swastikas and other racist symbols.
Memphis Rep. Hardaway agreed, adding that this kind of open hate speech is encouraged by “vitriolic dialogue” in local and national politics.
“The question that we have to ask is: Why do they feel so comfortable coming to Tennessee and demonstrating that behavior, recruiting in Tennessee? Why are they coming here?”
The lawmakers called on their colleagues on both sides of the aisle to condemn this incident, and white supremacy.
Wilson and the other boys said they are not going back downtown anytime soon — but that won’t stop them from drumming. After the press conference, they toured the Tennessee State Capitol, stopping briefly to tap out a beat on Rep. Jones’ desk with a pair of ballpoint pens.
Rose Gilbert WPLN NewsRep. Justin Jones took the boys on a tour of the Tennessee State Capitol after the press conference.
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