Hundreds Turn Out For Charlotte Peace Vigil

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A crowd of hundreds filled Marshall Park in uptown Charlotte Sunday night, rallying for peace and denouncing weekend violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Rally goers trickled into the park at dusk for the 8 p.m. rally, turning on flashlights and cell phones after the sun went down as a show of solidarity with Charlottesville following the string of violence that erupted there over the weekend.

Many held signs of protest, chanted “Love trumps hate,” and some even hugged strangers.

“Charlotte is a city that believes that diversity is our strength,” Mayor Jennifer Roberts told the crowd. “People who come here are welcome. We will be a city that stands for inclusion for we know that what happened in Charlottesville could happen here.” (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Charlotte — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Charlotte’s event, sponsored by Indivisible Charlotte, featured a range of faith leaders and community activists, many of whom criticized President Trump’s tepid response to the violence that included laying blame on “many sides.”

It was a view also expressed by Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, who said he was disgusted that the white nationalists had come to his town and blamed Trump for inflaming racial prejudices with his campaign last year, the AP reported Sunday. "I'm not going to make any bones about it. I place the blame for a lot of what you're seeing in American today right at the doorstep of the White House and the people around the president," he said.

Another rally is scheduled in Charlotte this weekend. Charlotte Uprising is sponsoring “Call To Action Against White Supremacy” on Sat., Aug. 19 in Marshall Park at 7:30 p.m.

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