Nearly 20,000 people gathered peacefully on Sunday night to remember the victims of last week's Charleston massacre. The march was named "Bridge to Peace" and took place at Charleston's Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.
As the sun set over the grief-stricken city, marchers reportedly broke into song, raised American flags, and high-fived one another. At one point, the procession paused for a nine-minute moment of silence to honor the nine people who were murdered, allegedly by white supremacist Dylann Roof.
“I can’t even process it; I feel like I’m in a movie,” Dorsey Fairbairn, one of the march organizers, told The Charleston Post and Courier. “The people raised in Charleston are not raised knowing hate — they’re raised in love, and that was obvious tonight... I hope the families feel the honor and the love from this community.”
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According to Tweets from reporter Sam Tyson, boats that were gathered under the bridge blew their horns in support, and Greg Mullen, Charleston's chief of police, was in awe of the marchers' momentum. "He says the energy of #BridgeToPeace just pushed them forward harder and faster," Tyson wrote.
The uplifting story comes in the midst of yet more disturbing news about the shooting suspect, Roof. Over the weekend, we learned that Earl Holt, the man Roof credits with inspiring his racist extremism, contributed thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Republican presidential candidates such as Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, and Rand Paul. So far, Cruz and Paul have pledged to return the money.
"Love never fails." "Be devoted to one another on brotherly love." #bridgetopeace #CharlestonUnityChain pic.twitter.com/7QkFqvGJHR
— Deanna Pan (@DDpan) June 22, 2015On the sidewalk people have written messages to the victims' families #BridgeToPeace pic.twitter.com/yTsHGC5Lp0
— Sam Tyson (@SamInteractive) June 22, 2015