Community joins together during Love Thy Neighbor peace rally


City and community leaders in Lynnwood have felt many emotions, from heartbreak to anger to frustration, over recent violent events elsewhere in the country.

So a group of them came together on Thursday night at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood to share their thoughts in an event themed “Love Thy Neighbor.”

“We are here because we believe hate cannot drive out hate,” Lynnwood City Council President M. Christopher Boyer said during his opening remarks. “Only love can do that.”

He expressed sadness at recent tragedies, “whether it’s law enforcement officers acting inappropriately, or citizens gunning down law enforcement officers.”

The approximately 60 people in attendance stood together and sang “When People Die by Hatred,” a re-imagining of the hymn “The Church’s One Foundation.” The opening verse to this version of the song is:

     When people die by hatred, when people die by fear,
     When people die defending our right to pretest here,
     When young black men are murdered, when heroes die in blue,
     When people die for justice, O God, we cry to you.

Mayor Nicola Smith took the stage after singing.

“I am broken-hearted over the recent acts of violence in our nation,” she said, and sniffed as her eyes reddened, “and it needs to stop.”

She said there are steps people can take from Lynnwood, a culturally diverse city, to make the situation better.

“We can make sure all people in our city feel safe and feel connected,” she said.

She continued to say the city is examining its policies and hiring practices, as well as increasing communication to citizens.

Smith was followed by Lynnwood’s Interim Police Chief Bryan Stanifer, who gave a message about empathy. He began with a story about an African-American family that was driving to Montana for a vacation earlier this year. They needed to drive through Idaho–and their plan was not to stop during that leg, because of the fear of white supremacists. He then recounted stories from years past, including the Rodney King riots in the early 1990s.

“I truly empathize with the black community and the frustrations they feel,” Stanifer said. “Now, I ask you to empathize with our officers, who put their lives at risk every day and have to make split-second, life-or-death decisions.”

Stanifer then said he hopes policymakers will look at gun restrictions and poverty rates, and families work together to strengthen their ties and understanding.

“I hope this will lead us to a land of understanding and empathy,” he said.

Janice Greene, president of the NAACP Snohomish County Branch, said talking is not enough.

“We have had a lot of conversations about this, and whenever something like this happens we have deeper and deeper conversations,” she said. “But when are we going to do something? It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take hard work, but if we don’t cause any trouble, it will be the same way 30 years from now.”

She said she remembers when her mother sat down with her sons and told them how to always keep their hands visible when talking to police and to move slowly. She said she had the same conversation with her sons.

“I want us to get to a point where we don’t have to have that talk anymore,” she said.

Councilmember Shirley Sutton was also among the speakers.

“We are obsessed with violence,” she said. “Violence on TV. Violence in the games our children play.”

Ultimately, she said communication is key.

“We need to reach out and talk more–communicate,” she said. “That’s why God gave us one mouth to speak, and two ears to listen.”

After two more speakers gave their messages of coming together, a candlelight vigil was held to remember those who have been killed in recent tragedies. The group sang “We Shall Overcome” as the room slowly lit up in candlelight.

Rev. Steven Greenebaum of the Lynnwood Living Interfaith church explained how it is time to look forward.

“An opportunity has been born out of tragedy,” he said. “But it is not stillborn. It is up to us to nurture that opportunity.”

–Story and photos by Natalie Covate

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