CINCINNATI -- In the aftermath of this week's deadly police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, and Thursday night's sniper attacks on police in Dallas, Tri-State supporters of Black Lives Matter will hold a rally Sunday to show solidarity.
Hundreds are planning a more peaceful event to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Cincinnati Police District One headquarters and then march to Washington Park.
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Ahead of the march, Black Lives Matter Cincinnati put out a request for security and legal support, including observers "to make sure the cops will not mess with us," people to act as marshals at the event, on-call lawyers to defend any demonstrators who are arrested and donations to a bail fund.
Some 200 supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement gathered Thursday afternoon to organize a local response. They say that enough is enough and that the only way to end this type of brutality is with a show of mass support.
"The first thing for me was definitely frustration," said organizer Erica Abercrombie. "The second thing was what can I do, what can we do as a community to change this because I'm tired of it. I also thought about my own dad and friends and brothers and uncles, and should I text them right now and tell them I love them because you never know."
Thaddeus Walls, 29, has attended several Black Lives Matter movements in the area, and he isn't letting the shooting in Dallas stop him from attending Sunday's rally.
"When we gather together peacefully, there are other people with the intent to incite violence to instill fear," Walls said. "It’s almost like we still have to keep speaking in spite of fear because fear is not real, fear is the abstract illusion."
Walls wants people to understand that Black Lives Matter isn't a movement rooted in violence.
"A lot of people feel like black lives matter is a hate group and it’s nowhere close to that,” Walls said.
They will also have special guest speakers and are planning for this to be a peaceful demonstration. In light of the Dallas sniper attacks following a Black Lives Matter protest, CPD Lt. Steve Saunders says the city is aware of Sunday's rally and that they plan to have additional officers on hand.
