Vigil in Carmel for Black Lives Matter Movement

By Gabriel Harrison

About 100 people gathered outside Drew Methodist Church in Carmel yesterday for a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The vigil featured speakers including Putnam County Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr., State Senator Pete Harckham, Gilead Presbyterian Church pastor Martin McGeachy, Trinity Lutheran Church pastor Jennifer Boyd, and Drew United Methodist Church pastor Martha E. Vink. 

Vink helped organize the event along with Norma Pereira, a local community worker and organizer. The event started around 6 p.m., lasted about an hour, and included a moment of silence in honor of George Floyd.

Some participants carried signs and several stood by Route 52 with their signs facing the road. Car traffic was heavy, and drivers frequently honked while passing. Some attendees cheered in response.

Some held candles while they listened to the brief comments and prayer offerings by the speakers, who stood atop the steps of Drew Methodist. At one point, many lit candles from a common flame on the steps.

References to Martin Luther King Jr. were frequent during the proceedings. 

Vink quoted King’s famous Letter from Birmingham Jail after leading a moment of silence.

“The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'” Vink said. “Our lives are connected. We have to do this together.”

McGeachy also recalled King when he began his address, “As Dr. King has famously said, ‘I can never be who I ought to be as long as you cannot be who you ought to be,'” McGeachy said.

He continued on a note of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

“And while our brothers and sisters have individuals and systems that are kneeling on their necks and keeping them from breathing, I want to say that we are willing to kneel not on you but with you,” he said.

State Senator Pete Harckham offered similar comments.

“Across the country, these incidents have happened over and over and over – the devaluation of black lives,” Harckham said. “And for those of us of white America, we need to acknowledge the systemic racism that has permeated this country and our institutions.”

Harckham also included a political note and a call for unity. 

“This is a nation that is torn apart, our soul is torn apart, we are wondering what kind of nation we are and we are reaching, looking for leadership. And leadership from the top is not coming, so the leadership comes from all of us. In love, in tolerance, in acceptance, and hard work, and holding elected officials like me accountable,” Harckham said.

Sheriff Langley emphasized individual responsibility in his address. “No matter your color… no matter your sexual preference, it is our responsibility as human beings to stand up for each other and stop the wrong,” Langley said. “Society grows together.”

The vigil was generally quiet and orderly except for occasional disturbances initiated by passing drivers. 

While one woman told how her son had been repeatedly called a derogatory racial slur while in the Brewster public school system, a white man in a dark-colored sedan drove by and loudly shouted “White lives matter!” and “Go home!” The same man passed twice, slowing each time to shout at the crowd from the open car window. Despite the loud disturbance, the woman continued to convey her story. 

Following the vigil, Vink expressed excitement about the number of people who came. 

“It really shows that this is an issue that a lot of people are concerned about in our country, which is a good sign,” Vink said. 

She said she’s been to several protests and marches in the past. 

“When I was ten, my dad took me to an anti-Vietnam War protest in Central Park, so that’s where I got my start,” she said and laughed.

Discussing the situation in Putnam County, Vink said, “Unfortunately I’ve heard from people of color that there is a lot of racism here.” She also noted the fear of immigrants in the community.

“Maybe this is what they call a watershed moment, because I think, I hope, and I pray that this will be a transforming moment,” Vink said. 

“We need to use these terrible moments to transform us so that we can make everything better,” she said.