The 901XTREME motorcycle club has gone through Clarksdale with its Stop the Gun Violence rally the past three years.
The rally began at the Old Sub Park in Tunica and ended at the High Performance Ryders MC Clubhouse at 929 DeSoto Ave. in Clarksdale Saturday, June 20. After George Floyd was allegedly killed by an officer in Minneapolis, Minn. recently, protests against violence have become more frequent throughout the nation.
Lakeysha Jackson Young, one of the organizers of the rally, hopes to capitalize on the attention ending violence has gained with something positive.
“We’re just letting them know the bikers are here and we’re making a stand,” Young said.
“We are really here now.”
As the Stop the Gun Violence rally came to Clarksdale, Young said more people decided to join in.
“We’re doing everything in our power to try to bring the gangs together and bikers and everything,” Young said. “It’s not just bikers.
“We have so much support from Clarksdale. If you paid attention, people just pulled up on the street. I mean everybody.”
Young said the elderly showed support for the rally.
Individuals from Helena-West Helena, Ark., also participated in the rally.
Another organizer of the rally, who did not giver her name, said events promoting an end to violence and bringing people together went all the way to Memphis.
Young expressed similar sentiments.
“We’re going to each town until we get somebody to listen,” she said. “We’re going to go on and on until we get everybody to listen.”
