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Green Bay demonstrators share message of peace after violence in Charlottesville

Posted at 5:26 PM, Aug 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-15 23:12:19-04

Dozens of demonstrators gathered on the Green Bay CityDeck Tuesday to rally for peace after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday.

The "We Believe in Peace" rally started as an idea on Facebook and took off from there, according to organizers.

The goal was to show support for those killed and injured in Charlottesville, but also to spread a message of peace in the greater Green Bay community.

"It hurts me a lot," said organizer Loren Prince. "I fell like we're all connected as humans, regardless of skin, or what color we might be."

The white nationalist ideals spread in Charlottesville are not isolated, according to organizers. They said they hope to make a difference and spread love instead of hate.

"I've driven around and I've seen bumper stickers on cars that say speak English, we're in America and things like that, commenting on people who come from all over the world and want to be a part of this community," said Prince.

Activists said Northeast Wisconsin is usually pretty peaceful, but if violence can happen in Charlottesville, they believe it can happen anywhere.

"In every single city, there are people who are prejudiced and have bigotry toward people that are different from them," said Taku Ronsman, who attended the peace rally.

The rally follows several other events in Northeast Wisconsin, including a silent march in Sturgeon Bay and a vigil in Appleton.

 

VIDEO: Silent march in Sturgeon Bay aims to inspire unity, stand against Charlottesville violence