Hundreds March For Better Race Relations In Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- In a call for true equality, a march on Sunday afternoon included people of all races at the Alex Haley-Kunta Kinta Memorial in Annapolis.
It was a call to Annapolis' Mayor, Anne Arundel's County Executive and Governor Larry Hogan to focus race relations in the state of Maryland.
"We believe it is time for the state, the county, and the city to take race relations seriously and to call for an emergency to address the issues that are plaguing Americans," says Carl Snowden with the Caucus of African American Leaders.
"No, he will not initially do it, neither will the mayor, neither will the county executive. I remind people, a movement is different than a moment," he says.
Headed by the Anne Arundel County NAACP and Councilman Pete Smith, the group is motivated by events around the country and right here in Maryland, including the 2015 death of Freddie Gray and most recently Black Bowie State University Student, Lt. Richard Collins III, who was stabbed to death by a white man with associations to white supremacist groups.
Organizers say some people may ask, why now, why Annapolis?
"Nothing bad ever happens, until it happens," says Steve Tillett, with Anne Arundel County Branch NAACP.
Snowden says he and many others are prepared to continue this call for a state of emergency until true action is taken.
Speakers at the march also pointed out the recent incidents where nooses have been found in areas around Maryland and Washington, D.C., showing that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
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