Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout to reflect "protesters from varied perspectives" rather than "counter protesters," as individuals did not share messages in opposition to the primary chant of "Black lives matter". This story was updated June 15 with comments from Tomball City Manager Rob Hauck.
Approximately 200 protesters marched as part of a "Black Lives Matter" protest through Tomball on June 13, organized by siblings Jessica and Reis Seggebruch.
With chants and signs, the group marched the mile-long route on West Main Street from H-E-B to City Hall, escorted by the Tomball Police and Fire departments.
"I grew up in Tomball and was kind of in the mindset that I think a lot of people in Tomball are in, and I think that's mostly just in ignorance to the plight of the African-American community faces, and it's not necessarily an evil-hearted thing," said Reis, a 2015 graduate of Tomball Memorial High School, in a June 12 interview. "I think a lot of people they genuinely just don't understand it."
Reis and Jessica said they gained perspective as they left Tomball after high school and now wish to educate the Greater Tomball community about racism. Although Tomball will always be "home," the siblings said they currently live near downtown Houston.
"We come from a very good family. ... Because of what we were surrounded by, we were very ignorant to the world outside of Tomball. I don't want that to be the case anymore," said Jessica, a 2013 graduate of Tomball High School in a June 12 interview. "I want to bring to Tomball what people are saying around the world. I don't want people to hide from racism anymore. I don't want people to think racism doesn't exist. I want them to be confronted with it; I want them to be knowledgeable of it, and I want them to at least try and understand it, especially in a systematic sense."
Tiffany Mcgee, a recent Tomball High School graduate who attended the march, said she found out about the event through Facebook.
“This is in our city. I grew up here, I represent this town, I go to this school, and I need to make an impact in this city,” she said.
Mcgee said she believes racism happens in Tomball and she has seen it firsthand at her school.
“It hasn’t been too much at my level, other than at school,” she said. “Someone showed up in a KKK outfit and it was very traumatic for us.”
As protestors marched down Main Street in the 91-degree heat, they chanted slogans such as “No justice, no peace" and “Black lives matter.”
Protestors also chanted the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Jane Kotinek, a member of the June 13 march, said she showed up because she wanted to listen and learn from the black community about the issue.
“I am still learning,” she said. “[We wanted to show that] we hear them.”
Kotinek said listening to the black community helped her realize things about her own life.
“We were part of the problem, even if we didn’t know it,” she said.
After arriving at City Hall, the group peacefully rallied, calling for unity, justice and change and praying for the same. Speakers from Unity Gold, a Tomball nonprofit organization, and Newness of Life Worship Center in Tomball, addressed the crowd.
Speakers addressing the crowd included Edward Matthews, a pastor at Newness of Life Worship Center, located on West Hufsmith Road in Tomball.
“Justice ought to matter to you,” he said to the crowd. “When there is unity there is peace.”
Matthews said he did not script his speech and just wanted to get a point across that change can be achieved peacefully.
“It has got to be a concerted effort of unity,” he said.
To get to know your neighbor better is the next move, Matthews said.
Matthews said he is hopeful watching the younger generation advocate for change.
“It seems like we are initiating that change that has been trying to go forward for such a long time,” he said. “I can’t say we have reached it today, but I think we are further along.”
Although the march was peaceful and met with only a handful of protestors from varied perspectives—who also rallied peacefully—Jessica said in an interview before the June 13 march that organizing the event had sparked threats against the protestors.
"I definitely expected backlash. I did not expect to have my life threatened. I did not expect [people] to say I was going to be ran over, I was going to be shot; I did not expect that," she said. "I also did not expect the amount of support that we're getting. As much hate as we're getting, we're getting as much support and love. We've had so many people private message us telling us they're so thankful that we're bringing this to Tomball. People are fed up and people are ready to speak up and speak out against things that no one, including the city of Tomball, should ignore."
Tomball City Manager Rob Hauck said June 15 he was happy the protest was able to be conducted peacefully.
“The march went well. It was peaceful, and it was a great example of what civil discourse in a community can and should look like,” he said.
Hauck said he met with the protest organizers, city officials and local businesses prior to the march to ensure the march would be peaceful.
“I recognized a lot of people; it was primarily folks from our community,” he said.
Hauck said the protest has not yet stirred any conversations about diversity within the city, as it is something that city officials already look into.
“We have an incredibly diverse police department, and we have solid policies in place,” he said. “We believe that we have good policies and good practices.”
However, Hauck said policies are reviewed annually.
Reis said he believes it is important to continue calling for social justice and not let the movement fizzle out.
"America's finally taking notice, and I think it's finally a movement that we have momentum to make actual change," he said. "It's very simple: Black lives matter."