Seeking change, hundreds gather for George Floyd vigil at East Liberty church

More than 500 people gathered peacefully in honor of George Floyd Wednesday afternoon at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

The crowd quickly wrapped around the sidewalk that circles the massive stone church, fanning out across the streets with posters and signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Rev. Randy Bush, senior pastor, said the church began planning the vigil last Saturday, working with the National Black Presbyterian Caucus and several other Presbyterian groups. It was important, he said, that they not stay silent on the death of Floyd and other black men who have died while in police custody.

“The churches, even though they’re closed, are not silent or indifferent,” Bush said.

Both young and old protesters were present with signs bearing names that are now part of the national vocabulary — George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. They also bore names more personal to Pittsburgh — Antwon Rose, who was shot by an East Pittsburgh police officer in 2018, and Jonny Gammage, who died in 1995 in an encounter with police from South Hills departments.

Volunteers continuously circled the building handing out water bottles, while some passing drivers honked their horns in solidarity. The crowd included college-aged protesters, the elderly and children as young as 6 years old.

One protester was Johnny Monroe, 78. A black man originally from South Carolina, he said he has encountered racism all his life and he protested in the civil rights movement. Monroe spoke slowly and gently, his voice barely audible over the sound of the honking cars. He held a sign that read “Standing in memory of Emmett Till and for my grandchildren and all young people.”

“All of my life, I have seen the mistreatment of people who look like me,” he said. “I had hoped that by the time my children came along, things would be different, because I was protesting and picketing back in the 60s.“

Now his son is 50 years old, with children. His daughter is 47, with children.

“That’s why I’m out here, hoping that one day, before I die, we might see some justice,” he said.

Many of the older protesters reflected on the moment’s similarities with the civil rights movement, acknowledging that in some ways, it feels like little has changed.

David Wuchina, 65, said he feels a strong responsibility as a white man to bring a message of acceptance and unity to his peers. He thought of his own friend a black man who is afraid any time his sons leave the house.

“I am seeking justice and change in our society to bring an end to this problem that has plagued us since I was a boy and Martin Luther King was assassinated,” he said. “It’s changed, but very little.”

Bush said the vigil was the first chance the congregation has been able to gather as one since the covid-19 pandemic hit Pittsburgh — though the crowd included many members of the larger faith community he had never met. The building has been closed since mid-March. While this is not the circumstance he had pictured bringing the community back together, he felt it was especially critical given the multiracial demographic of the congregation. With 900 members from all over Western Pennsylvania, Bush said about a third of the congregation is black.

“We’re a strong church for racial justice,” he said. “In some ways, this is actually more true to who we are as a church than if we had just gathered back for regular worship service.”