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Vigil held in Dover over killing of man in police custody

Organizer said event was intended to bring people of all races together

Vigil held in Dover over killing of man in police custody

Organizer said event was intended to bring people of all races together

THEY GOT THEIR MESSAGE ACROSS THE WAY THEY INTENDED TO. HUNDREDS COMING TOGETHER IN DOVER TONIGHT TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST RACISM. PEOPLE OF ALL AGES STOOD AT HENRY LAW PARK FOR A PEACEFUL VIGIL. THEY UNITED AS A COMMUNITY TO SAY BLACK LIVES MATTER. <CLIP 28, 2:37-2:43 MIRAQLE LAPIERRE / ORGANIZER THIS, JUST HAVING ALL THESE PEOPLE HERE JUST SHOWS THAT WE DO HAVE A VOICE AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AND THEY WILL SHOW UP AND THEY WILL SUPPORT US.> PEOPLE ARE HONORING GEORGE FLOYD... WHO DIED WHILE IN POLICE CUSTODY IN MINNEAPOLIS. BUT ORGANIZERS SAY THEIR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE IS NOT JUST FOR FLOYD... BUT FOR ALL PEOPLE OF COLOR. <CLIP 28, 3:38-3:54 MIRAQLE LAPIERRE / ORGANIZER US PROTESTING IS LIKE YEARS OF US BEING SILENCED. WE HAVE TRIED DOING THIS PEACEFULLY AND NOW YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR US NOW. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS PEACEFULLY FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND NOW WE'RE ANGRY AND NOW THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH SO NOW YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY AND YOU'RE GOING TO LISTEN.> THE VIGIL... ORGANIZED BY TEENAGERS, WHO ARE GOING TO BE SENIORS IN HIGH SCHOOL. THEY WANTED TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AROUND A COMMON CAUSE... TO HONOR THOSE WHO THEY SAY HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. AND THEY WANT TO SEE REAL CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY. <CLIP 28, 4:09-4:2 IT'S NOT BLACK VERSUS WHITE. IT'S NEVER THAT. NEVER THAT. IT'S EVERYONE AGAINST RACISM BECAUSE IF YOU'RE HERE TODAY, YOU'RE HERE TO FIGHT FOR THE MAIN PURPOSE. YOU'RE HERE TO STAND FOR SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY IS STANDING FOR.
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Vigil held in Dover over killing of man in police custody

Organizer said event was intended to bring people of all races together

Hundreds gathered at a vigil Monday night in Dover after days of demonstrations in New Hampshire and across the country over the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.>> Download the free WMUR appProtests over the weekend from Manchester to Conway stayed peaceful, but there were eruptions of violence in some demonstrations in other cities across the country.Organizer Palmira Wilson said the message is a positive one, how people of all races have much more in common than what divides them. "It's not black versus white," Wilson said. "It's everyone versus racism."Floyd was killed one week ago. A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with murder, and three others are under investigation. "The vigil is to honor all the people that recently died and just because of things that have been happening in the community," Wilson said. "It's a peaceful way to bring everybody together."Wilson, who will be a senior at Dover High School next year, organized the vigil with friends. Their message is that we are all one, and she is hoping people of all races show up."Like, white people come in and support us and just be there with us," she said. "That's the main point here.""We are all one human race," said Rogers Johnson, president of the Seacoast chapter of the NAACP. "We all, as John Kennedy said, inhabit the same small earth, breathe the same air, bleed the same blood."Johnson was the featured speaker at the vigil."If I accept you for who you are, if I accept everyone for who they are, then it becomes very difficult to hate someone," Johnson told WMUR before the vigil.Johnson said he has watched the riots going on across the country with sadness and said they are diverting people from the real issue: what happened to Floyd.

Hundreds gathered at a vigil Monday night in Dover after days of demonstrations in New Hampshire and across the country over the killing of George Floyd while in police custody.

>> Download the free WMUR app

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Protests over the weekend from Manchester to Conway stayed peaceful, but there were eruptions of violence in some demonstrations in other cities across the country.

Organizer Palmira Wilson said the message is a positive one, how people of all races have much more in common than what divides them.

"It's not black versus white," Wilson said. "It's everyone versus racism."

Floyd was killed one week ago. A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with murder, and three others are under investigation.

"The vigil is to honor all the people that recently died and just because of things that have been happening in the community," Wilson said. "It's a peaceful way to bring everybody together."

Wilson, who will be a senior at Dover High School next year, organized the vigil with friends. Their message is that we are all one, and she is hoping people of all races show up.

"Like, white people come in and support us and just be there with us," she said. "That's the main point here."

"We are all one human race," said Rogers Johnson, president of the Seacoast chapter of the NAACP. "We all, as John Kennedy said, inhabit the same small earth, breathe the same air, bleed the same blood."

Johnson was the featured speaker at the vigil.

"If I accept you for who you are, if I accept everyone for who they are, then it becomes very difficult to hate someone," Johnson told WMUR before the vigil.

Johnson said he has watched the riots going on across the country with sadness and said they are diverting people from the real issue: what happened to Floyd.