Tennessee lawmakers denounce racism after neo-Nazis harass child musicians downtown

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, are calling for stronger action from Tennessee officials to rebuke the rising neo-Nazi presence in Nashville after five young boys were harassed by a group of white supremacists while busking downtown over the weekend.

“White nationalists verbally attacked and tried to intimidate these brilliant, beautiful, powerful young Black boys who were simply trying to play drums, and simply try to enjoy their summer break like any other child,” Jones said during a news conference Wednesday at the Cordell Hull legislative office building.

Jones called it an "act of intimidation that took us backward to darker days in our history."

The boys, Rontarious and Detonio Wilson, 14 and 10, Kamond Williams, 11, and Jaquial Forrest, 9, are familiar faces downtown where they frequently play intricate and impressive drum beats on overturned plastic buckets.

On Saturday, the boys were playing when a group of neo-Nazis — members of the groups that have been popping up with increasing frequency over the past few weeks — began harassing the boys and shouting racial slurs at them.

According to Jones and the mother of one of the boys, Metro Nashville Police escorted the children a block from the scene and then let them walk home alone.

“We know that this is about a deeper systemic issue and about a deeper threat that we're experiencing in our state and in our city right now, with the increasing rise of white nationalist terror that is targeting our children now,” Jones said.

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The incident drew immediate reaction from the Metro Council's Minority Caucus, who “strongly rebuked” the event in an online statement.

"Our right to free speech, though fundamental, should not be used to justify grown men weaponizing vile, racist language against children," the statement said. "We denounce any form of speech that promotes division, intolerance, or incites hatred."

Ashton Lee, mother of Forrest and friend of the other three boys’ mother, spoke at Wednesday’s news conference.

“It wasn’t right,” she said, visibly emotional. “I moved to this city, which is supposed to be free. And it happened anyway."

Lee said she hadn’t even known at first that her boy and his friends were the ones harassed, until she saw the viral video of the incident on social media.

“It just broke my heart,” she said.

The boys, who busk to earn money to buy things normal for pre-teen boys — shoes and “cool” clothing, they bashfully whispered to the media — have not been out to play since the incident, according to Lee.

“It makes me feel some type of way, but I tell the boys that all the white people are not the same,” she said. “They feel like everyone is against them, but they’re not.”

She said no other Tennessee lawmakers had reached out to her, calling their silence “hurtful.”

“Everything y’all are doing is hurtful,” she said. “Please show the children you care, and figure out what y’all can do to help these kids.”

Jones and Hardaway called on the legislative body to provide “reflective and corrective actions” and “answers.”

“I found (the video of the incident) to be disgusting. Deplorable,” Hardaway said. “To have grown men bully and attempt to intimidate little children is outrageous, in this day and time in Nashville, Tennessee.”

He said he was not surprised by the altercation, and questioned why the neo-Nazis feel “so safe” publicly marching in Tennessee.

“There is a climate that's been created by the vitriolic dialogue that's going on in the political arena in particular and we've got to tone it down,” he said. “Those who support white supremacy: We're going to call you out.”

More: Nashville peace rally denounces increased presence of neo-Nazi groups

The children performed a drum solo for the gathered media before going on a tour of the Capitol.

At one point, Detonio stood at the dais normally occupied by House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and slammed the ceremonial gavel while — his face barely able to peer over the wooden edge — asking that the “police let us be free, and those white people to stop being racist to Black people’s kids.”

Jones started a GoFundMe for the children following the incident to help raise funds for the children to help the family provide school supplies, school clothing, groceries, and maybe even a drum set.

As of publication, the fundraiser was sitting over $10,000, $2,000 past its goal.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee lawmakers denounce racism after neo-Nazis harass child musicians downtown