MONTVILLE — The sun was long gone when the last speaker began, so Shari Schwartz of the community organization One Montville asked everyone at a multi-faith vigil Wednesday "in solidarity against racism" to raise lights to the sky.
"We all can do better," Schwartz told a diverse gathering of about 250 people spaced in small groups on the hill beyond the Community Park Amphitheater, many representing area mosques, temples and churches.
"I ask you, I challenge you to think about how you can personally make a commitment to eradicate racism," she said. "This is where it's handy that it got dark. If you accept this challenge, please light your light. Turn on your lights and raise them high."
The audience responded with hundreds of lighted phones, flashlights and candles.
"Don't talk about the light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "We are that light at the end of that tunnel."
Story continues after gallery
Schwartz followed more than a dozen speakers, some of whom issued similar challenges, while others gave moving testimony of their own experience with racism in the United States.
They ranged from Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J. 11th District) to Imam Basel Hamdeh of Jam-e-Majid Islamic Center in Boonton, who offered opening prayers.
"We are hurting today because our nation is continually suffering from racism," Hamdeh said. "All of us watched the heinous murder of George Floyd. God says that the killing of one innocent person unjustly is like the killing of all mankind."
Speaking after Sherrill was Montville Committeewoman June Witty, who was censured by the council but refused to resign in 2018 after her Facebook post comparing Nazis to Democrats set off a public firestorm.
"We must summon the unity to surmount this crisis," Witty said. "We must learn from the tragedy. We must make changes that protect all and bring us together."
Another member of the Jam-e-Majid Islamic Center, Matida Njie, spoke with tears and rage of indignities she has suffered as a Muslim of color.
"No matter how difficult of a time this may be, our society has an obligation to rise up, speak out against injustice and say conclusively, enough is enough," Njie said. "As Muslims and as people of faith, we have a moral responsibility to fight for true equality for all."
But her experience includes being continually accosted by a white man in a coffee shop, and being suspected of shoplifting an item she had just purchased.
"I'm openly inviting anybody to talk to me, don't judge me, talk to me," she pleaded. "Come to my home. Talk to me. Don't assume I'm something I'm not. Don't judge me by my color. Judge me by the content of my character."
Pastor Terrilisa Durham Bauknight, better known as "Pastor T" of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Boonton, also challenged the audience to take personal responsibility to eliminate racism in their communities.
"We need to look at ourselves in the mirror before we look to the left of us and to the right of us, before we look to somebody else, and ask ourselves, where do we go from here?" she said. "Are we, and I include me in that we, are we ready to fight? Are we ready to march? Are we ready to talk? Are we ready to listen?
"Are we ready to demand, command and understand that no matter what it takes, we're not going to stop until it's done?" she spoke to growing applause. "This is not a black thing. I'm telling you straight out this is an 'us' thing."
The vigil ran about 30 minutes past its planned 8:30 p.m. ending but was peaceful from beginning to end. Some people held signs stating "Black Lives Matter" and "Racism is the pandemic."
"Tonight, right now, right here, this is just the beginning," Bauknight said.
No counter-protesting occurred, although one blue pickup truck, flying two large American flags in its bed, slowly circled the parking lot below the gathering once before leaving the property.
The police presence included township officers and the Morris County Sheriff's Department, which also brought bomb-sniffing dogs to sweep the area prior to the start of the event. The officers quietly observed from the top of the hill, well behind the attendees.
Select enforcement?: Assemblyman wants pardons for coronavirus violators; says Murphy 'brazenly' broke his rules
Morristown landing?: Trump expected at Bedminster golf club Thursday after canceling visit last weekend
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven
"light" - Google News
June 11, 2020 at 10:09AM
https://ift.tt/2MPavFq
Hundreds light the darkness at multi-faith vigil against racism in Montville - Daily Record
"light" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Wm8QLw
https://ift.tt/2Stbv5k
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Hundreds light the darkness at multi-faith vigil against racism in Montville - Daily Record"
Post a Comment