GULFPORT, Miss.—Dozens of participants dressed in white and blue marched in the blistering heat and carried signs with messages of solidarity as passing cars honked their horns to show support during the Walk for Nolan Wells on Sunday. As Tanya Darden walked and thought about Wells’ and his death from a few weeks ago, she couldn’t help but think of her own two sons.
“I looked at my precious beautiful children and the first thing is: ‘What would I do if this was my son?’” Darden said.
Darden, a resident of Gulfport, organized the Walk for Nolan Wells. She said as someone who’s often involved in community service, she felt compelled to plan an event to honor Wells and call for answers, although she didn’t personally know Wells.
“As a mother of two sons that are biracial—half Black and half white—I can’t just sit here and keep my mouth shut,” Darden said.
Wells, an 18-year-old resident of Ocean Springs, disappeared on July 4 during a boat trip with a group of friends to Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, reported him missing to authorities late on July 4 after he failed to return from that trip. His friends said they left early after their boat began taking on water due to a malfunction and that Wells declined to ride back with them, saying he’d ride back on a boat with another group of friends that had traveled to the island that day. A ranger found his body two days later, on the northwest beach of the island.
The Walk for Nolan Wells began around 4 p.m. on Sunday. Participants gathered at the pavilion in Jones Park in Gulfport and walked two miles down East Beach Boulevard towards the Gulfport Courthouse Pier.
Nefertiti Lyons, who grew up in Gulfport, said she participated in the Walk for Nolan Wells because the case personally resonated with her and she could especially sympathize with Wells’ mother.
“I too have a Nolan Wells—I have a 17-year-old son who just graduated from school,” Lyons said. “I can only imagine the pain that she is suffering right now.”
As someone who was born and raised on the Gulf Coast, Lyons said this case “hit different.”
“All I ask now is that people start learning to love one another enough to be honest,” Lyons said. “There’s no such thing as honesty if there’s no truth.”
Another mother, Sophia Buckley, said she attended the walk with her two daughters to “spread love” and show support for Nolan Wells’ family in their search for the truth.
“I want to teach them (her daughters) to stand up for what’s right, march for what’s right, always do what’s right—no matter what color another person’s skin is,” Buckley said. “We’re tired of seeing our Black babies die by injustice.”
Ella Holmes-Hines, the Ward 3 City Councilwoman for Gulfport, Mississippi, participated to emphasize the need for discussion about the circumstances of Wells’ death.
“We are here in Gulfport saying that Nolan Wells deserves justice,” Holmes-Hines said. “Justice looks like you have answers, you have facts.”
Authorities have not concluded whether any foul play led to Wells’ death and the State of Mississippi has not released the official autopsy. Attorney Ben Crump, representing Wells’ family, previously shared the preliminary findings of an independent autopsy the family had ordered at a press conference on Wednesday. The autopsy found Wells’ cause and manner of death undetermined pending further investigation.
Holmes-Hines said she believes it’s important to come together as a “citizenry” to call for answers that can help the Wells family move forward.
“Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere” Holmes-Hines said.
During the walk, participants carried signs with messages of support and led chants as they made their way down East Beach Boulevard. Organizers originally planned for the walk to be four miles, but they pivoted to a shorter two-mile walk for participants’ safety due to extreme high temperatures. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday in Gulfport with temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Kealvin Barnett, a community advocate for the Mississippi Gulf Coast and U.S. Air Force veteran, urged the community to “hold local officials accountable” on calls of transparency.
“Asking questions is not allegations, asking questions is not making assumptions,” Barnett said. “When you have a local government that’s not being transparent, of course you’re going to ask questions.”
Barnett said one way people can hold elected officials accountable is through going to the polls and voting.
“Your vote does matter,” Barnett said. “Most of these people making decisions are elected.”
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the Nolan Wells case and read past stories here.
Mississippi Free Press stories are always free because we believe everyone should have access to quality journalism. Donations from readers like you make that possible. Please click here to give to help sustain and grow vital, people-over-power journalism for Mississippians.
Readers can sign up for our free newsletters here.
