A vigil calling for solidarity with Charlottesville and an end to white supremacy was held in downtown Bowling Green Sunday night.
The event was in response to the deadly attack on protestors at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that killed one person and injured at least 19 others.
About 200 people attended the vigil, holding candles in support of victims and signs in protest of white supremacy. Akisha Townsend Eaton says issues of racism can’t be solved overnight, but seeing people coming together and recognizing the issue is a hopeful starting point for her.
“Incidents of hate can arise anywhere," Townsend Eaton said. "People who perpetrate it can be our neighbors, people around us, and it’s really nice to see how the community is responding and saying this won’t be tolerated.”
Townsend Eaton has a friend who was injured in the attack. She says seeing a friend attacked for standing up for something she believed in was upsetting. She notes it’s disappointing that something like what happened in Charlottesville can happen in 2017.
Byron Nesbitt is a senior at Western Kentucky University. He says he hopes the vigil will show that people can come together and get along despite their differences. He adds people deserve a chance to live and not have their lives cut short by violence.
“It’s so unfortunate because there’s no telling what these people left behind, like family and friends and stuff like that," he said. "No telling what they had ahead of them.”
Nesbitt hopes this vigil shows that there are people who value life no matter their own beliefs or race. The vigil was organized by a Bowling Green social justice group. Individuals from the local Black Lives Matter group and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth spoke at the event.
