University of Mississippi students and local residents gathered to march in the name of Nolan Wells and the unanswered questions that surround his death on Sunday, Oct. 25.
UM students Christopher Burnett and Avah Trevino organized the march to protest what many believe was a mishandling of Wells’ case by the judicial system and to give the Oxford community a voice.
Burnett is a freshman political science major from Memphis, and Trevino is a freshman public policy leadership major from Ridgeland, Miss.
“I want to make sure that I make it clear that our march wasn’t to accuse anyone or say that anything happened, because we weren’t there,” Burnett said. “We just want, simply, for the family’s questions to be answered in further investigation. It was closed way too soon.”
Wells was a Mississippi resident who went missing after attending an Independence Day event at Horn Island, Miss., off the Mississippi Gulf Coast with four of his friends. He was found dead two days later on the island’s shore. Mississippi ended its investigation into Wells’ death with a grand jury report that said it could not say how he died.
How Wells died is still unknown, with both the state and an independent’s autopsy labeling the cause and manner of death as unknown. While accidental drowning was left open as a possibility, there was reportedly no water found in Wells’ stomach or lungs, according to attorney Liza Park, who serves on the team of the family attorney Ben Crump.
Bruising was also found on the back of Wells’ skull as reported by Mississippi’s medical examiner, though the bruising was determined to not have been caused by fatal injury.
A grand jury determined there wasn’t any evidence to warrant charges for Wells’ death on Sept. 22, and this ruling has brought scrutiny and questions from both Wells’ family and local Mississippi communities.
“I think a lot of times, people say that we’ve come so far with our history, but a lot of things are still happening, a lot of tragic things and a lot of injustice is still happening,” Lafayette county resident and march participant Janeice Millon said. “I think people coming together and talking about it — I think that’s the first step to help with change.”
The attendees marched from Fulton Chapel through the Walk of Champions, then continued to the Circle and the statue of James Meredith behind the Lyceum. From there, the march looped back to the Fulton Chapel, chanting and holding out signs along the way.
Chants included “Say his name — Nolan Wells” to “Ain’t no power like the power of the people because the power of the people don’t stop.” Chelsey Courtney, a freshman political science major from Richland, Miss., spoke at the march. She wanted to emphasize Wells’ humanity and who he was beyond his death.
“May his name be remembered, not only for the questions surrounding his death, but for the life he lived and the people who loved him,” Courtney said. “We are here. We’re listening. We’re watching, and we are asking for the truth. Justice for Nolan Wells.”
Burnett and Trevino put a strong focus on Wells’ personhood, especially considering how close in age he was to them and other college students.
“He was 18 … when it happened. I’m 18 now,” Trevino said. “It kind of helps put it in perspective. … I’m sure he had so many plans and goals for his life, and he never got to finish those goals out.”
Attendees and speakers also discussed how Wells’ death is believed to be part of a bigger history of the deaths of Black people being overlooked or underreported. Van Turner, an attorney from Memphis, spoke on this idea.
“It’s a philosophy and mindset that Black lives don’t matter,” Turner said. “We have to combat that. We have to fight against that. We have to march against that.”
Jerry Palmer, a junior psychology major from Jackson, Miss., participated in the march and expressed a similar sentiment.
“It seems like when there’s a certain person of a certain group, that there’s always this outcome that seems to happen, and it’s never in favor of that person,” Palmer said. “(We are) just bringing awareness to that and showing that we see that it’s happening, and we would like for a change to happen.”
Azana Bruce, an alumna of Tennessee State University who attended the march, reminded participants at the march to promote their voices during the midterm elections.
“Who you have as police chief matters. Who you have as your student body representative on this very campus matters, and you should always elect officials that have your best interests at heart,” Bruce said. “I want you to be reminded that you have the power to fire them or hire them by casting your vote.”
While the march was organized in remembrance of Wells, it also served as a way for locals to come together and support one another. Johari Bacon is a sophomore political science major from Ridgeland, Miss., participated in the event and viewed the march as a way to keep people from grieving alone.
“I think being in a space like this with each other is really beneficial, so we don’t feel alone, and we know that we are heard and we are seen, and that our grief is allowed,” Bacon said.
