By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – Members of the community gathered at the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church for a prayer vigil Wednesday night to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s shooting in Charleston, S.C.

“Not in Our Town” organized the event and member Marc Miller said the tragedy must serve as a wake-up call to end racial violence.

“We just wanted to get together and console each other and talk about this,” Miller said. “We want to express our hopes for the future that we can move forward. I’m also so impressed with the example that the people of Charleston are giving us.”

“Not In Our Town” members said the killing of nine African-American church members was meant to cause a race war, but they believe the proper way to respond is with love and faith. Member Martin Ross said a key way to end racial violence is to stop racially demeaning language.

“When you hear what you know is wrong, when you hear bigotry or racism or stereotypes about people, just speak up,” Ross said. “Speak up as a friend if you can, speak up as a member of the community, just don’t be afraid to say what’s right. And know what you’re saying is right.”

“Not In Our Town” member Willie Halbert helped organize the event, which included multiple songs and prayers.

“Let’s all come together and pray and lift up the people and know that our prayers are being heard and that people are being healed,” Halbert said. “Because this is a healing process. Our coming together like this is healing. That’s the blessing.”

The large amount of community members in attendance was encouraged to donate to the families of the Charleston victims. The total collection amount can be found on the “Not In Our Town” website, NIOTNB.org.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].