CLOSE A year ago, over 1,000 demonstrators participated in a protest that shut down the Hernando de Soto Bridge to denounce the police killings of black men and women nationwide. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

Buy Photo June 30, 2017 - Grass-roots activist Frank Gottie, 34, was on the Hernando de Soto Bridge during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 10, 2016. "It was beautiful with all of us together on the bridge," Gottie said. "Nobody arguing, nobody fighting. It was real history that day." To commemorate the one-year-anniversary, Gottie has planned a 1,000 youth march event at Robert C. Church Park in Downtown Memphis on Sunday, July 9 at 4 p.m. (Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Frank Gottie stood on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge on Interstate 40 shoulder to shoulder with more than a thousand protesters last summer and imagined this is what heaven must be like.

"It was beautiful with all of us together on the bridge," Gottie recalled. "Nobody arguing, nobody fighting. It was real history that day."

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the protest that led marchers through Downtown Memphis and onto the bridge shutting down traffic for nearly four hours.

Gottie is one of the people who was at the forefront of the spontaneous protest supporting Black Lives Matter. The protest was held to denounce the police killings of black men and women nationwide.

Leading up to the one-year anniversary, activists and city leaders reflected on the protest and what has happened since that day. Just days before the anniversary, studies were released showing ongoing racial disparities in the treatment of black children in the Shelby County Juvenile Court system.

Memphis police Director Michael Rallings recalls breaking in his new Florsheim dress shoes as he walked nearly two miles to get protesters safely off the bridge that spans the Mississippi River.

"I was truly concerned about somebody getting hurt that day, and I was truly concerned about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," Rallings said. "I thought I heard his voice saying get up there and try to get this resolved."

As Rallings sat recently in his new office that overlooks the bridge, he said since the protest he has met several times with the activists from that day.

"The police director can't address the long laundry list of concerns that were brought up at the meeting with the community the day after the protest," Rallings said. "But I encourage people to let's have a conversation about what issues are in my lane."

Rallings said those issues include body cameras for his officers and community relations, including how citizens interact with law enforcement.

Buy Photo June 30, 2017 - Director Michael Rallings, 51, was the interim director for the Memphis Police Department when he safely got over 1,000 demonstrators off of the Hernando de Soto Bridge during a hours-long Black Lives Matter protest on July 10, 2016. "Well my thoughts were that I didn't want anybody to lose their life that day. That was a very dangerous situation and, as I've said before, probably the most dangerous situation I've ever been in," Rallings said. "That bridge is made for cars and trucks. It is not made for pedestrian traffic. I was really concerned about police officers, concerned about citizens, and I noticed that there were children and women and babies on the bridge. And I was really concerned that someone would have lost their life and then the question would have been, 'For what?'" (Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

"We've had community meeting after community meeting," Rallings said. "We're trying to do what we can do to bridge these gaps.""

Gottie said since the bridge protest, he has spoken with Rallings, but can't say the same for Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

"I call his office every month since the bridge, and he will not take my calls," Gottie said.

Gottie said he thinks things have gotten worse in Memphis since the bridge protest in terms of violence, especially slayings involving children.

With his trademark bullhorn in hand, Gottie recently stood at the foot of the bridge for an interview with The Commercial Appeal. He wore a Rest In Peace T-shirt with the picture of 2-year-old Laylah Washington on the front. Laylah was killed last month in an apparent road-rage shooting.

He said he wants to discuss with Strickland how the city can provide more for youth, including updating city parks and community centers.

"When I was growing up we had Libertyland, Celebration Station and Adventure River," Gottie said. "Now we got Chuck E Cheese and Incredible Pizza and those