BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hundreds of people were in attendance for back-to-back Father's Day rallies in Roxbury on Sunday morning.
Demonstrators started gathering near Nubian Square before 10 a.m., many wearing shirts that read "Fathers Stand Up" and holding signs including "Black Fathers' Lives Matter."
Organizer Clifton Braithwaite had called for "fathers, families, friends, and allies to stand with us in solidarity" at the Father's Day protest and rally, which opened with a prayer near the police station in Roxbury.
There were also guest speakers, some of whom discussed a list of demands, including the creation of a local citizens' review board for police. Organizers also planned to register voters at the protest, and petition for signatures to support their list of demands.
The crowd then marched to Malcolm X Park, where they held a moment of silence for victims of police brutality, which lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time associated with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
By the time the first rally had ended, a second event entitled "The Black Men's March And Healing Rally" had begun, continuing the protest from Malcolm X Park to Franklin Park.
Organizers encouraged attendees to wear white "so we can bring light into our community."
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