Hundreds of Arizonans gathered in downtown Phoenix on Sunday evening to stand up against bigotry and hatred.
Black Lives Matter Phoenix and the east Valley NAACP held a “Phoenix Against Hate” prayer vigil at Phillips Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church near 14th and Adams streets. The event comes a day after protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia spoke out against a demonstration held by white nationalists.
Ingrid Osses was among the group of attendees.
"We teach our kids that diversity is OK. My husband is white; I'm Latino," Osses said.
RELATED: Demonstrators clash again in Charlottesville on Sunday
The rally in Charlottesville turned deadly after James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio slammed a car into a line of other cars, leaving one woman dead and dozens of others injured.
"A big part of the problem is the people that have remained silent through all of this," attendee Summer Cunningham said. "They're complicit in allowing this to happen."
Roy Taten with NAACP says "It's tough to watch in 2017 people with such violent responses; hateful rhetoric."
BLM is hoping to spark a conversation and offer a safe place for people to take action against racial and ethnic hatred, a Facebook event said.
Sheriff Paul Penzone released the following statement Sunday night regarding the Charlottesville incident:
Sheriff Penzone's statement regarding the events in #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/O98UfJrt7q
— Maricopa Sheriff (@MaricopaSheriff) August 14, 2017
