NORFOLK, Va. — Around the world and Hampton Roads, communities have come together to protest George Floyd’s death.
On Friday, a crowd of nearly 100 people gathered outside of Norfolk City Hall, responding with a different kind of public display. Everyone who gathered here participated in a prayer vigil event, called "Prayer in the Public Square."
Every person prayed and spoke in the context of unity and change. The crowd gathered to find healing through faith. For an hour and a half, faith leaders from different denominations took to the podium.
“Share with somebody. Greet somebody. Love somebody, encourage somebody and go in peace,” said Pastor Melvin Blackwell from Little Zion Baptist Church of Smithfield.
“It means to listen and to learn and it means to act,” said Rabbi Roz Mandelberg, from Ohef Sholom Temple.
This prayer vigil came on the heels of nationwide unrest over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
One Norfolk resident who attended the prayer vigil said, “It’s been way too late. It’s sad that it had to come to this for people to start paying attention.”
At the start, a moment of silence for nearly nine minutes, the amount of time an officer was recorded with his knee of Floyd’s neck.
Then, faith leaders began reading scripture and saying prayer, for change and understanding
“It is only by the power of Jesus that are most strident divisions in our deepest pains in our darkest sin can be healed,” said Pastor Kevin Temper, with CrossRoads Church.
They spoke for compassion, equality, and rising above adversity.
“But God, even in spite of it, we ask you to keep us walking down violence, God,” said Pastor Courtney McBath, with Calvary Revival Church.
Each faith leader said that the Lord sees unrest and inequity. In the crowd, people held signs to take action against bad cops, with the Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone standing by, supporting George Floyd’s family and the community.
Chief Boone said, “The timing [of this prayer vigil] was perfect. It’s the beginning of a healing process.”
He added, “I just want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the Floyd family, in part of the Norfolk police department and all law enforcement across the nation.”
This prayer vigil comes before a march scheduled in Norfolk, this Sunday. Both events are organized by the City Collective.