A few hundred people massed in Civic Center Park Thursday evening, part of a nationwide vigil — the National Moment of Silence (NMOS).
The vigil honored victims of violence and police brutality, including Michael Brown, the unarmed teen who was killed in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday night.
Some participants carried signs with same words “Hands Up — Don’t Shoot!” and “Don’t Shoot — I’m Unarmed” — that have flooded television reports from Missouri in the aftermath of Brown’s death.
“I grew up watching racial violence in Tennessee and I’ve seen it continued here in Denver,” said Jo Cusick, one of the co-organizers of the Denver vigil. “We’re losing young black men, we’re losing fathers and leaders of the community and until people start to speak up about it, it will just continue happening.”
Before the gathering, Denver co-organizer Kenny Wiley explained in an email that, as an individual concerned with his community, he shares the values at the core of the NMOS event.
“I have been saddened and horrified by the rampant examples of police brutality all over the world. I then realized that being sad or upset … didn’t mean much unless I followed it up with action,” Wiley said. “I was particularly attracted to #NMOS14 because of its peaceful, reflective nature, and because these vigils nationwide are, in many cases, being planned by individuals instead of groups, and by people with varying levels of activist experience and community organizing.”
Denver organizers, like the rest of those across the nation, came together over social media to plan more than 90 NMOS events in 37 states.
At about 5:15 p.m., the crowd stood in silence. Afterwards, members of assorted clergy spoke of the need to come together. A hymn, “Guide My Feet While I Run This Race,” was sung, and later people were encouraged to say the names of individuals killed in acts of police violence.
A complete list of Thursday’s events, including several around Colorado, may be found on the NMOS Facebook page.
