A large crowd gathered on the Town Common Sunday evening, June 7, to mourn and demand change, holding a vigil for the black lives lost to police brutality. Sign-bearing participants took a knee and remained silent for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, echoing the violence inflicted on George Floyd. Harvard’s Shantelle Castle, a social worker at UMass Memorial Medical Center, spoke about her involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement. Participants were invited to walk around the Common on sidewalks on which the names of people of color who lost their lives to police violence were written and to choose a person to learn about.
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For 8 minutes 46 seconds participants took a knee to understand how long George Floyd suffered before dying at the hands of police. A few stood in solidarity with the cause, saluting the Black Lives Matter movement.(Photo by Tim Clark)
Shantelle Castle addresses the crowd and talks about finding her voice in the Black Lives Matter movement. (Photo by Jen Manell)
Families gather with signs and T-shirts in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and honoring those who have been killed by police violence. (Photo by Tim Clark)
The crowd spreads across the Common. (Photo by Jen Manell)
Harvard Police Chief Ed Denmark takes a knee. (Photo by Lisa Aciukwicz)
The names of black people who have lost their lives to police violence are written on the new sidewalks in town center. Participants were asked to choose and research the death of one individual. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Participants read the names of the victims of police violence written in chalk on the new sidewalk surrounding the Common.(Photo by Tim Clark)
The Finch family, from left, Nate, Lily, Eli, Jen, and Zoë, read names as they walk. (Photo by Jen Manell)