Vigil for Charlottesville held where statue of Confederate soldier recently removed

More than 100 gather at Lake Eola

ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 100 people lit candles in front of Lake Eola Sunday night, standing in solidarity with Charlottesville, after a white supremacy rally turned deadly.

"It's important that we come together as a community, that we tell the world that we're united, that this is important, that we need to keep our community safe," event organizer Michelle Suarez, of Orlando, said. "I feel very sad, very upset, and sometimes I feel afraid, to be honest. It's very disturbing, as a woman of color, to know that there are people out there that will hurt you."

Those who organized the vigil pointed to the symbolism of the chosen spot --- the place where a statue of a Confederate soldier was recently removed.

"I want to see the end of the white supremacists' reign on the world," David Caidedo, of Orlando, said.

The Orlando Workers League, a socialist group, organized the vigil. Their message: End the hate.

"We won't accept that rhetoric," Suarez said. "We won't accept that hate, that racism."


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