North Raleigh neighbors march to support Black Lives Matter

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Video showing large crowds of protesters appears often these days online and on television. But demonstrations for justice through suburban streets don't happen every day.

We saw one in North Raleigh Saturday, organized by Ingrid Sanchez as "a peaceful Black Lives Matter march."

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"We have asked guests to be sure to wear their masks and we are expecting a large turnout of families," said Sanchez. "Additionally, we have 24 volunteers and some of those are medics who will be passing out hand sanitizer and ensuring the protesters have masks. "

That said, once her neighbors gathered on Saturday morning she reminded them of the march's focus.

"About racism, and the eradication of racism, and the importance of justice across so many institutions in our country right now," Sanchez said. "It's about bringing the conversation to our homes. And that starts with our children, and our friends and our neighbors. Our coworkers and our colleagues."

She and her neighbors spent nearly nine minutes in silence, about the same amount of time George Floyd spent handcuffed and face down on a Minneapolis street with an police officer's knee on his neck.

In addition to their march through the neighborhood, with signs supporting Black Lives Matter, they had some lighter moments as families did the Electric Slide together.

But through it all, Sanchez made sure the participants remembered the scars systemic racism leaves on Black, brown and Asian people through microaggressions as well as overt violence.

"Racism is an injustice issue, people! And when one of us is hurting, we're all hurting." Sanchez told her neighbors then reminded them, "Martin Luther King said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.'"