Loudly and unapologetically, community members walked a few blocks around the Pine Bluff Civic Center in solidarity to call out domestic violence.
The event was the 16th annual Pine Bluff Domestic Violence Awareness walk, organized by the Pine Bluff Police Department. Hundreds volunteered their lunch hour (and received a Subway meal to make up for it) to unite in purple, with Officer Nadine Marshall and the Pine Bluff High School cheerleaders leading chants such as “Love don’t hurt!” against the epidemic.
“We stand here in solidarity with survivors and those with the courage to leave and still finding their way,” Third Ward Councilwoman Lanette Frazier said.
Yet, the part of Tuesday’s program that may have sent the message strongest was a skit on the City Center steps featuring Officer Deondre Goodwin as a volatile man in a relationship with a woman he abuses and then shoots to death. Talisha Brown played the victim. The act, which included some coarse language, was set to a poem “I Got My Flowers Today,” that was read by police Sgt. Jasmine Womack.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Deputy Chief Shirley Warrior acknowledged the gravity of the skit might have caught those who saw it off-guard, as some can relate to the experience of such abuse. But the reason for the skit, she told the crowd, was: “We want you to never forget.”
Karres Manning, a deputy prosecuting attorney in Jefferson County, and Police Chief Denise Richardson offered startling statistics regarding domestic violence in Arkansas. Manning said 5,500 women in the state were hospitalized due to domestic violence and 40% of women will be victims to such.
“There is still a need to bring awareness to domestic violence,” Manning said. “… We ask that you play an important role in ending domestic violence.”
Richardson said 9 out of 10 youths involved in the city’s Group Violence Intervention initiative are victims of domestic violence, highlighting the need to stop the crime to get a handle on juvenile crimes.
“I know a lot of us believes that whatever happens at home stays at home … but if we care about our neighbors and community, sometimes we have to say something,” Richardson said.
The Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits will present a Domestic Violence Awareness Forum from 9-11:30 a.m. next Tuesday at the Main Library, 600 S. Main St. While the event is free to the public, those who would like to attend must register by Friday by sending an RSVP to Sharon Stout at sharonstout.chhs@gmail.com or by reaching her at (501) 370-3800.
Pine Bluff Police Officer Deondre Goodwin and Talisha Brown portray a couple in an abusive relationship on the steps of the Pine Bluff Civic Center following the Domestic Violence Walk. Brown plays a victim in the relationship trying to escape her boyfriend’s volatile character before she is ultimately shot dead. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Pine Bluff Police Officer Nadine Marshall leads the Domestic Violence Walk from the Civic Center. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Sandra Barnett of the Arkansas Department of Correction (left), Investigator Marcia Oliver and Capt. Yohance Brunson of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Officer Nadine Marshall of Pine Bluff Police turn on 12th Avenue from Tennessee Street. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Balloons are released in memory of those lost to domestic violence from the Pine Bluff Civic Center. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Investigator Marcia Oliver holds a sign memorializing Samantha Poole, a 29-year-old woman who was shot by her boyfriend on March 14, 2014, in Monticello. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)