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‘All Lives Matter’ rally in Harrisburg on Freddie Gray death

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Starting on the steps of the State Capitol and marching through midtown Harrisburg, a large group rallied to support the actions of thos...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Starting on the steps of the State Capitol and marching through midtown Harrisburg, a large group rallied to support the actions of those in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray two weeks ago. His death, while in police custody, sparked riots and activism across the country.

Saturday's rally was organized by the Harrisburg community action group This Stops Today Harrisburg. In January, they held a die-in demonstration at the Farm Show Complex to showcase the issue of black lives and police brutality. Many of the same themes applied to this weekend's protest, which began at the Capitol steps on Third Street, and marched a half-mile to the Broad Street Market.

"We’re here standing with Baltimore showing them that they’re not the only ones going through the struggle," rally organizer Bleu Zerbe said. "We’re standing up for ourselves in Harrisburg in support of them."

‘All Lives Matter’ rally in Harrisburg on Freddie Gray death

The rally drew approximately 50 people, many holding signs. One sign read "All Lives Matter," while another read "Stand With Baltimore." One woman wrote with black marker on her arm "Black Lives On." It was also interracial, with white men and women marching alongside African American men and women. They chanted while marching up Third Street, "No justice. No peace. No racist police," and "All night. All day. We will march for Freddie Gray."

"It's not a Harrisburg thing. It’s not a Baltimore thing," Antoine Cameron of Harrisburg said, "It’s people coming together to do what's supposed to be done."

Cameron hoped Saturday's rally would spark change in Harrisburg. This Stops Today Harrisburg passed around a petition to give to city leaders and city police with 10 proposals "to help ensure that black and brown lives are protected and respected equally across the City of Harrisburg." Some proposals included starting a civilian complaint review board with the Harrisburg Police Department, and possibly implementing a body camera program for all police.

"Young people need to focus and be heard," said Tito Valdez, a first-year law student marching in the rally. "This is the civil rights movement of our era."

‘All Lives Matter’ rally in Harrisburg on Freddie Gray death

Saturday's rally was a show of solidarity with protests and rallies in Baltimore this week. Freddie Gray, 25, died April 19 after sustaining spinal cord injuries while in the back of a police van. On Friday, after a week of riots throughout Baltimore, Gray's death was ruled a homicide. The six police officers, three white and three black, involved in Gray's April 12 arrest were charged with a number of crimes, including murder and manslaughter.

"There are millions of Black people who are systemically disenfranchised, and who are systemically kept down," said Angela Kirkland, an organizer with This Stops Today Harrisburg. "We need to have a discussion about this. We need to bring it into the open air. We need to bring it into the light out of the dark."

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