KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 100 people gathered at Swope Park Sunday night to stand in solidarity with victims of police violence.
And nearly one year after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many attendees don’t believe much has changed.
Black Rainbow, a Kansas City, Missouri, organization, planned the candlelight vigil for Black men who were fatally shot by officers in recent weeks, a Black transgender woman who was killed in Springfield and local “victims of police brutality,” according to the group.
RIGHT NOW: at least 100 people are at @KCMOParks’ Swope Park for a candlelight vigil for Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo and other individuals killed by law enforcement.
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) April 19, 2021
Event organized by @blackrainbw_kc @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/eSnQbMeeop
Those who attended were asked to wear black as they remembered Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot April 11 by a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer; Dominique Lucious, who was fatally shot last month; and Adam Toledo, who was fatally shot March 29 by a Chicago police officer.
"As much as a protest is honorable, we also believe that a vigil is honorable as well," Amaia Cook, community organizer with Black Rainbow KC, said.
After hearing from several speakers about their experiences and fears, attendees are lighting candles for this vigil @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/DMBTO6PV6T
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) April 19, 2021
Attendees also paid respects to local Black men who were killed by officers -- most recently, 47-year-old Donnie Sanders, who died from injuries suffered after being shot in March 2020 during a traffic stop. The Jackson County prosecutor’s office announced last month that charges would not be filed against the officer.
KCPD officer Eric DeValkenaere wascharged last June in the 2019 shooting death of Cameron Lamb. And six years earlier, KCPD officer William Thompson shot and killed Ryan Stokes outside of the Power & Light District. A federal court ruled last February that the shooting was reasonable.
Last Summer, Black Rainbow KC was one of the groups that protested on the Country Club Plaza, calling for criminal justice reform.
"We will never shut up we will never be silenced we will never go home," Rev. Dr. Vernon Howard Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said.
Again, nearly one year later, their top demand remains the same -- they want KCPD Chief Rick Smith out, saying there's a lack of accountability under his watch and that of the current Board of Police Commissioners.
Smith has told 41 Action News in the past he has no plans to resign.
Still, some would like change within the rank and file.
"How do we get the police department away from these routine traffic stops that often times turn into killings, like we saw with Daunte Wright?" Brandon Henderson, who attended Sunday's vigil, said.
Henderson said he makes it a point to attend each rally, protest and vigil because he said he’s afraid if people stop speaking up.
"What is it going to take for us to stop getting here -- to go somewhere new, to a world where I don’t have to wake up and ask myself, 'Is this like my day?'" Henderson said.
