Community holds justice walk for Nolan Wells in Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — Dozens gathered Sunday at Jones Park in Gulfport for a community press conference and justice walk honoring Nolan Xavier Wells, with organizers calling for a more transparent investigation into his death.

Supporters marched down Highway 90 and across the Coast Transit Authority pedestrian bridge, chanting Wells’ name as they pushed to keep his case in the public eye.

Organizers call for answers

Celina Charles, founder of Purposed for the People, said she will not stop until she gets answers.

“The question that Mrs. Christine Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley have said from the beginning, what happened to Nolan Wells? So that’s why we’re here today as well. We’re here to find out what happened to Nolan Wells,” Charles said.

Charles also addressed the nature of the advocacy effort.

“No one’s here with violence. I attended the funeral. There was no violence there. None at all. Having questions is not violence. You know, it’s not a case of we want to scramble at each other and fight. No, we have the question in mind, what happened to Nolan Wells?” Charles said.

Organizer Tanya Darden said the community is not backing down.

“Nothing’s gonna stop us. We are united to get this across. We demand equal justice for him, as any Caucasian person will get. Black lives does matter, and he matters to all of us, and we want answers. We want justice,” Darden said.

Councilwoman, attendees speak out

Gulfport Ward 3 Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines told the crowd the family deserves verified facts.

“Justice looks like you have answers. Justice looks like that you have facts. Justice looks like that you have a peace of mind that everything you have been told can be verified by facts. That’s what the family deserves and that’s what the family needs,” Holmes-Hines said.

Attendee Sandra Price said Sunday’s event was centered on peaceful advocacy.

“We want to be peaceful. We’re peaceful people. We want to live in peace. We don’t want to just rest in peace. See, Nolan is rest in peace. But we need to live, so we need to live in peace,” Price said.

Organizers said they will continue to press for transparency as they await more information, calling Sunday’s walk one step in their ongoing effort to keep attention on Wells’ case.

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