SALT LAKE CITY – As the sun rose over the Utah State Capitol Saturday morning, dozens of people gathered for a peaceful event held in the name of social justice.
The group "Insurgence, USA" held an event called "Take a Stand in Silence."
People held signs and stood up for racial equality during this peaceful rally on the steps of the Capitol building.
That silence was broken as several speakers discussed the issue of fighting for civil rights.
“We wanted to have a peaceful assembly and get together,” said John Sullivan, the founder of Insurgence, USA. “We wanted to show you don’t have to march in the streets. You don’t have to do those things. You can come together as a collective unit to speak your mind.”
The passing of Congressman John Lewis was on the mind of many in attendance. Lewis, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., devoted his entire life working for equality in the United States.
“John Lewis speaks about if there are laws or structures that are unjust, we have a moral imperative to fight those,” said Josianne Petit. “He said, ‘get into good trouble’ and I came down here today ready to get into good trouble.”
There was no trouble at this demonstration.
Instead, the event inspired a discussion and appealed to a broad audience. Activists believe this is one way to inspire change that will have an impact on future generations.
“In order to make change we need everybody at the table. We are going to keep doing any different type of protest to get as many people to the table that we can,” Petit said. “The reason I’m here is I have a daughter and I want to make this world a better place for her than it was for me. If that’s radical, then everyone should be radical.”
Insurgence, USA plans to organize at least 3 events each week through its social media pages.
