March and rally held in Oakland to denounce Charleston shootings
OAKLAND (KGO) -- Sunday night, a crowd gathered at Lake Merritt in Oakland to honor the men and women killed in the Charleston church shooting. It was a call to white people to come together in hopes of ending what they call "white silence."
Demonstrators had a very simple message -- white people need to speak up. The prevailing chant was "white silence is violence."
There wasn't a lot of diversity in the crowd and that was the point.
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Demonstrators marched around Lake Merritt in Oakland to denounce last week's shooting in Charleston and to send a message.
"It's time for white people to step up so we just put it on Facebook and thought maybe 20 people would show up and now a lot of people we see that there's a deep call for people to do this," said Adrienne Shamszad, organizer.
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Marchers were given the thumbs up along the way. They know the task before them is daunting, but the tragedy in South Carolina was just too much for them to sit back and do nothing.
"White supremacy is embedded into the institutions of society and it perpetuates racism so it's something we as white folks need to come together to resolve on our own," said Colin Murphy, demonstrator.
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"You know white supremacy is a white problem, it's really not for black people to change the minds of people who are already deeply racist," said Shana Lancaster, organizer.
Demonstrators honored the nine dead by reading each name. But they know the toughest challenge is what to do when the marching and chanting is over.
"The easiest way to take something like this and move it toward real structural change is for each person here to actively seek reconciliation with their neighbors and with their families and with the people around them in their communities," said Alexis Garretson, demonstrator.
Demonstrators say it's at least a start in breaking what they call "white silence."
Click here for full coverage on the Charleston church shooting.
