Black Lives Matter group marches through Jeffersonville, stopping at spot where man was killed by ISP in April

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Dozens of people in southern Indiana took to the streets Saturday for a Black Lives Matter march.

Members of Jeffersonville's faith community led the march, which began with prayer at Brighter Day Anderson Temple Church of God In Christ.

Some demonstrators held signs that read, "Black lives matter," while others' signs read, "Everybody's got a right to live" and "Make us instruments of your peace and justice."

The crowd of demonstrators, including some children, chanted, "No justice, no peace" as they marched. They also chanted the names of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot and killed by police officers who were serving a search warrant on her Louisville apartment in March, and George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minneapolis on May 25.

As the group marched, some neighbors came out of their homes to join in or held posters showing their support.

"We need to come together as a community. Black, white doesn't make any difference, we're all in this thing together cause we're all Americans," said Thomas Holt, a pastor at Brighter Day Church of God In Christ. "And I wanted to march in solidarity to tell the people that Black lives do matter."

Holt, a Vietnam War veteran who said he marched during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and other participating in Saturday's march wanted the demonstration to be peaceful and represent the church. Before the march started, one of the leaders told the crowd gathered to avoid using profanity.

"We as a faith community, as we used to be back in the 60s, that's where all the civil rights movement usually started — out of the church," Holt said. "So I figured it was time for us to get back into it."

IMAGES | Black Lives Matter group marches through Jeffersonville

The demonstrators held a lengthy moment of silence at the spot where Malcolm Williams, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by an Indiana State trooper during a traffic stop in April. Police allege Williams, who was a passenger in a car with broken taillights, brandished a handgun and shot first, and Trooper Clay Boley returned fire. ISP is still investigating Williams' death.

Williams' brother, Tyler Williams, had recently been organizing peaceful protests calling for more transparency in the case. Tyler Williams was accidentally shot and killed by his wife on June 11 outside an apartment complex in New Albany, Indiana, according to a report from the New Albany Police Department.

The men's mother addressed demonstrators while they were stopped at the site of Malcolm Williams' death.

"The hardest thing for me to do was to come out here," she said. "But when I woke up this morning, something told me, 'This is where you needed to be at.' Something told me that I feel my kids with me."

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