On June 5, members of the Andover community gathered on the Town Green for a candlelight vigil honoring the death of George Floyd and other Black victims of police violence.

Inspired by vigils and protests around the nation, the idea originated around Deb Brower’s kitchen table on the previous Tuesday night as a way to bring the Andover community together to pay respect for the lives lost. By Thursday, Deb had emailed over 50 members of the Andover community and encouraged them to share it with whoever might be interested.

The turnout was much higher than Deb initially expected, with over 140 community members gathering together on the warm Friday evening. Once people arrived, Deb welcomed the community and shared a few remarks, before initiating an eight minute, 46 second moment of silence, which represented the amount of time George Floyd spent face down on the ground, with the knee of a Minneapolis police officer on his neck.

After the long moment of silence, community members lit their candles, and were invited to come up and share their own feelings regarding the tumultuous times. One of those who spoke was Janet Moore, who shared that her lighted candle was for her nine-year-old grandson, John, “who should not be afraid to walk down the street alone.” Moore also shared her hope for the future that “when he is old enough to drive, he will not fear being pulled over by the police just because he is a black man.”

Ken Wells, Andover’s local state representative, chose to lead the gathering in a rendition of “Lean on Me” as a showing of solidarity. As the evening wrapped up, the organizers and attendees alike indicated a desire to transfer the sentiment of the vigil into proactive change in the larger community.