A community vigil has been scheduled for this Sunday outside of Galesburg City Hall.
The event, being organized by the Galesburg branch of the NAACP, is in response to “ongoing issues in the community and in the world.”
That’s according to NAACP President Doc Patterson who addressed Galesburg City Council Monday night. Patterson says the vigil is to continue a dialogue among community members throughout the city and county.
“We’ve got a problem,” Patterson told council. “We’ve discussed the problem for years, ever since Ferguson started. We’ve been very proactive in this community by heading off any type of those situations and we want to continue that tradition with our organization so that we can make sure Galesburg is a safe place and that we’re on the same page.”
A numbers of community members have been invited to attend and speak.
“I’ve asked Mayor Pritchard to take the lead as our first speaker for the event,”Patterson said. “We’re going to have clergy and we’re going to hear from young folks.”
Patterson says the goal of the event is to “look for solutions.” He adds that a discussion on the importance of voter registration will take place as well. Sunday’s event is set for 6:30 p.m.