‘Spread love and peace’
Families gather at Binney Park for a quiet candlelight vigil in memory of George Floyd
GREENWICH — With the sun setting around them, people gathered in Binney Park for a candlelight vigil honoring the life and death of George Floyd.
The death of the Minneapolis man, captured on video, at the hands of police has sparked international protest and demands for reforms in law enforcement.
With candles lit on Wednesday night, event co-organizer Whitney Keyes urged the 150 people gathered in Old Greenwich to “spread love and peace of our hearts” by “bringing the light of all the love in our hearts into this universe.”
“All of us have seen the video and felt the trauma of a hate crime that we all witnessed,” Keyes said. “Because of social media, never again will human rights violations go unnoticed by the world. I’ve been so encouraged by all of the protest and
all of the outcry. This can no longer happen.”
The candles were lit and held for an 8 minute and 47 second observation of silence to signify the length of time that police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck as he lay handcuffed on his stomach on the pavement.
Keyes and Meg Nolan Van Reesema, president of the Old Greenwich Association, organized the event with the help of JJ Worden, who coordinated the involvement of the nearby First Congregational Church. The church’s bells tolled after the observation of silence.
“We want to send a message of unity and togetherness while recognizing what we need to do to move to a brighter future,” Van Reesema said, adding later that organizers wanted to pay tribute not only to Floyd, but also to all others who were victims of police attacks.
Greenwich’s Pete Francis, a member of the band Dispatch, performed his original song “Show Me” with his wife and children to send a message about “coming back to love to heal,” he said.
Many families brought along their children to the vigil. Some took to marking the pavement walking trail with chalk, writing down messages including “Be Love,” “Black Is the Same as White,” “This Is Not Fair” and “Black Lives Matter.”
“We want our children to be able to digest the trauma that we’ve all gone through in seeing these videos,” Keyes said. “We want to be a part of creating a vision of what we want to see in the world and the love we want to express in the world.”
Jamil and Prema Wayland brought their children Ellie, Alex and Avery, because they wanted them to learn that the more people speak out, the more they are heard.
“We wanted to support the cause and be there with people and all the sadness we’re all feeling,” Jamil Wayland said. “We want to make it known that we all care and we all have a voice. We’re here to support everything that’s going on.”
“We’re an interracial family and being a person of color I wanted to support Black Lives Matter and support the community and hope we all come together, listen and educate ourselves,” Prema Wayland added. “We have to learn from this.”