Edith Lee-Payne poses with her iconic photo from the March on Washington.
Photo listed in The National Archive Museum
Detroit’s stake in social justice is as rich as any southern city in America.
From its roots in the Underground Railroad to the 1967 riots, Detroit’s history is full of stories in the fight for social justice. In recent years, millennial organizations have formed to continue the legacy and the push for racial justice in the city and beyond. As we look back, we can measure how far the movement has come and how much further we have to go.
Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown — these names are just a few of those who have sparked national outrage in Black communities. With very public cases, America got a front-row seat into the complexities of race, police relations, and overzealous vigilantes. Most recently, the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst that ignited African Americans in the city and in many cities across the country, to stand up and help put an end to murder at the hands of police officers. However, the fight for reform started long before George Floyd and continues after his death.
Edith Lee-Payne has been an advocate and activist for social and racial justice, education, police and community relations and other pressing matters for decades. Etched in history, Lee-Payne became a staple in the fight for justice in August 1963 when she was photographed during the March on Washington as a young girl. Together with her mother, Lee-Payne learned activism early and continues to make her mark on her community.
“I have always had a passion or a desire to stand up for things as a very small person. To speak my mind, respectfully, my mother wouldn’t have it any other way. Going to the marches, the first one was in Detroit in June 1963 and then the March on Washington, and that was because my mom had had some experiences,” said Lee-Payne. “The experiences that she had coming up gave her that passion to be a part of the Civil Rights Movement and what it meant. That’s how I happened to be at the march.”
In 2020, protests in the city were a five-day outcry as a result of George Floyd’s murder. Opening the door for hundreds of young people to make their voices heard, the streets of Detroit were flooded with organizations and individuals sounding off against police brutality in America, but specifically within Detroit city limits. No stranger to the fight, Detroit was once again on the main stage of social justice.
On the board of the 12th Precinct Police Community Relations as an active member for more than 30 years, police reform is a passion point for Lee-Payne. Despite the marches and protests of 2020, she believes very little progress has been made as leadership in the new era of the movement has been eclipsed.
“We still haven’t seen any police reform that we need to see because the message is overshadowed by the messenger,” said Lee-Payne. “If you have someone stepping up as leader, then you make sure that the clarification of what’s intended is stated — that it’s clear.”
From the earliest days of Black bodies arriving in America through today, the shifts in laws for Africans and their descendants has caused a ripple effect in laws governing the nation. Needing more than a legal push, true reform must come through the practice and the implementation of legislation.
“I think that we are certainly not where we should be when we look at from whence we came, and that’s going on 403 years since the first enslaved African touched the shores of America,” said Lee-Payne. “The Civil Rights Movement, of course, was a very pivotal time that helped us get the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, but it’s more than just passing legislation. It has to be enforced; it has to be applied.”
Black leadership is at a standstill in comparison to iconic leaders and movements of the past. Lacking direction and a selfless individual, organizing the new era of the movement seems bleak.
“I certainly welcome anybody that wants to step up and have their voice be heard, but mind you, I came up during a movement of non-violence. The message was clear and the message was different. The movement was an organized movement; it had leadership,” said Lee-Payne.
What was once loud and bold in its approach has now become silent as organizations and individuals who rallied in the 2020 protests seem to have lost steam. All of this leaves revolutionary leaders of earlier movements wondering what is to come.
“We’ll march and we’ll chat, but what’s next?”
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