“I hear you. I hear the voice that says ‘I cannot breathe’ and realize that it’s not just the breath in the lungs, but it’s also hearing that you cannot breathe in the toxic atmosphere of racism.”
Those words from Pastor Matthew Sauer, who along with several others have organized a vigil to take place tomorrow at City Hall in Manitowoc. The vigil will begin at 6:00 PM and will be different from other protests and events that have taken place as of late.
Sauer said while there is nothing wrong with a protest march, they will be holding a Vigil for Reconciliation and Hope. “The goal is to take some time as a community to acknowledge that there are racial issues in our nation.”
Sauer said the event will help shine a light on how racism has affected so many people but hasn’t seen the light as much as it should. “We will be remembering not only George Floyd, but the names of others in recent years, who appear to have received injustice just because of the color of their skin,” the pastor explained. “We will have a moment of silence that will last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of which the execution of George Floyd took place, for that period of time.”
Sauer and the others organizing the event have reached out to members of the Manitowoc Police Department to attend, but not as officers, but as members of the community. “I in no way expect this to be anything other than a group of people gathering together for about a half an hour,” Sauer stated. “When I’m talking to them, it’s more about inviting them to be present, not ‘You better be there in your job capacity, but more as community members in uniform so we can share that law enforcement isn’t always as it is portrayed by a few.”
While under normal circumstances, we would not need to note this, but Sauer is a white man. The pastor told SeehaferNews.com that he is aware that hearing about racism from an individual that has had every advantage in life is not the best way to get the point across, so he is working to get minority members of the community to speak. Sauer put it bluntly, “Sometimes the best gift my privilege can give is to get out of the way. They don’t need another aging white man to tell people about injustice in the racial community.”
The vigil takes place while other protests are happening across the country, some of which have turned violent. Sauer said he does not want that to happen, but this is an important topic that needs to be addressed.
