SOUTH FLORIDA – On Tuesday, June 23rd, the South Florida community will demonstrate its opposition to racism and racist violence. The racially motivated attack that claimed nine lives in Charleston, SC was a national tragedy. The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church that was targeted in Charleston was a historically black church. Vigils are being held throughout the country to remember the lives that were lost that night in Charleston.
These are the names of the 9 lives to commemorate: Reverend and South Carolina State Senator, Clementa Pinckney, 41, employer at the Charleston County Public Library, Cynthia Hurd, 54, Reverend, local high school track coach, and mother of three, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, Tywanza Sanders, 26, died while protecting other members of his family, Myra Thompson, 59, Ethel Lee Lance, 70, Susie Jackson, 87, Daniel L. Simmons, 74, and Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49.
South Florida takes a stand and unites with communities throughout the country in remembering the victims of this attack, denouncing racism and fighting against the institutions that maintain it.
“Racism will not disappear on it’s own, it’s our job, the people’s job, to eliminate it. The government is doing nothing to make sure black and brown communities feel safe from racist terrorists and vigilantes. So we have to make them listen through united actions like this one,” said Cassia Laham, community activist and organizer of People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism.
We will meet at the African-American Research Library And Cultural Center on Sistrunk Blvd in Fort Lauderdale (corner of Sistrunk Blvd and NW 27th Avenue) for a VIGIL at 6:00pm remembering the victims of the Charleston Massacre. The vigil will be followed by a rally against national oppression and racist violence in the US.
