Activists meet with residents to discuss vigil

Passion, sacrifice and justice were just a few of the main topics expressed during a community meeting held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Ville Platte Tuesday night.
It was the second meeting in the past week regarding the death of Keenan Ardoin, who died while in the custody of Ville Platte law enforcement officials last December.
“It is believed that while in custody that he was held improperly and as a result he passed away,” Marja Broussard, President of the Lafayette Chapter of the NAACP said. “We are here to help organize what you want to do as a community. This is only a spark. There are many issues that need to be addressed by the community.”
Broussard was joined at Tuesday’s meeting with her assistant Alana Jackson, Lafayette-based lawyer and pastor John Milton and activist Takuna Maulana El Shabazz.
The group wanted feedback from those in attendance as part of preparation for a vigil to be held on the anniversary of Ardoin’s death, December 3. The vigil will be held in front of Ville Platte City Hall at 5 p.m.
Broussard expressed to those in attendance that sacrifice will be needed in this process.
“It is not an event,” Broussard said. “It is a process. It is a movement. It is going to take sacrifice. You have to be willing to make the sacrifice to make change happen.”
Members of the group also discussed the vigil’s opening prayer, a prayer for the family, reaching out to local African-American political and business leaders, as well as what the community’s list of demands should be. Transparency with local law enforcement, accountability and expediency in the investigation were all mentioned.
Shabazz made sure to tell those in attendance the importance of the group’s chant at the vigil.
“Your chant is supposed to verbalize your message,” Shabazz said “You will need to be united during the chant and can do so by locking arms while chanting. Your chant must be real and must be forceful.”
Added Milton, “When other people see something happening then they will join in.”
The Ville Platte Gazette reported last December that Ardoin had died after Ville Platte police were called to a report of a domestic altercation early shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, December 3, on Oak Street.
In the article it states, “According to the State Police, four Ville Platte police officers struggled with Ardoin in the dirt up to 10 minutes until they could handcuff him. Williams said police held Ardoin’s face “in the dirt.”
According to news reports, officers said they called an ambulance when they noticed the cut on Ardoin’s arm. Soon after that, police said, Ardoin was not responsive. News reports differ as to whether Ardoin died at the scene of the altercation, in an ambulance, or in the hospital.”
Shabazz and her fellow community activists are also part of the Justice for Victor White movement. Victor White III was a 22-year-old man who authorities claim shot and killed himself while locked in a patrol car with his hands cuffed behind him.
The group’s goal for the Ardoin vigil is simple.
“We want to make sure that Keenan’s death will not be in vain,” Broussard said. “We want to make sure we do everything in our power to not lose another member of our community to needless acts of violence.”
The group will meet again on Tuesday, November 24 at 6:30 p.m. to iron out any details before holding the vigil the following week.