BANGOR, Maine — A month after the community gathered on the steps of City Hall to remember the victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando, people from all walks of life gathered again in West Market Square, this time in tribute to recent victims of racial violence.
Organized by the Bangor Racial and Economic Justice Coalition, Wednesday’s vigil drew at least 100 people, who came together to remember Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men slain by police earlier this month, and the five Dallas police officers killed at what began as a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, Texas.
Many held handmade signs calling for an end to the violence that has been permeating the nation and in support of the nation’s black people and police. Some brought flowers to lay at a makeshift shrine at the base of a podium set up in the downtown square.
James Varner, president of the Maine Human Rights Coalition and a former member of the Maine Human Rights Commission, was among the speakers.
“My friends, I am distressed, I am heavy burdened, that we have to be here and have the conversation that we’re having, [that] Black Lives Matter,” Varner said at the start of a fiery speech in which he called for action.
“Black lives do matter. We’re not talking about it’s special for black people only. Yes, all lives matter, but we’re talking about black lives matter because we have a broken justice system, because people who look like [me] must have the book thrown at them if they commit a crime,” he said.
“My friends, I am distressed when I think about my children. I have three sons and one daughter. I fear for their lives. I fear every day, that they might end up as Trayvon Martin in Florida,” Varner said, referring to another black man who was a victim of racial violence.
“It’s a tough, heavy, heavy burden my friends. I thank you for being here today. I hope that you get your love batteries recharged and your action batteries recharged,” he said. “I know that I’m talking to the choir. I know that I’m talking with concerned individuals, but my friends, we’ve got to do more. We’ve got to do more.”
Antonio Williams, who grew up black in Bangor, noted that in recent years there have been a number of vigils in honor of those whose lives were taken too soon.
“I hope one day that we’ll come down here for a victory lap. A celebration. But now is not that time,” he said.
“We need to think of more progressive solutions to the very real problems that we have. The misconceptions, the fear, the inability to listen, which I think we all, everyone in this crowd, has experienced,” he said, citing social media posts as an example.
“But that is not where the battle is fought. The battle’s fought here and it’s fought in front of people. It’s making yourself visible. I do not enjoy speaking in public, but I had to do something and I would much rather be in front of all of you for something good. I recognize that us being here is good, but is everyone just frustrated that we have to keep doing this?” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.
No matter where one stands on current hot button issues, Williams said, “Stop killing one another. Stop accusing everyone of being racist just because your opinion doesn’t line up. Stop absorbing everything you see on TV. It’s not as cut and dried as everyone thinks it is.”
Other speakers at the vigil included Bangor Mayor Sean Faircloth, Penobscot Nation member and indigenous rights attorney Sherri Mitchell, Dawn Adams of the Sunlight Media Collective, Michael Alpert of the Greater Bangor Area NAACP and representatives of the Health Equity Alliance.
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