Although much of mainstream media focused on the "Unity Chain March" across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston on Sunday, a group of peaceful protesters saying they were the Charleston chapter of Black Lives Matter took to the streets on the previous day to honor the nine victims of the Emanuel AME Church shooting on Wednesday, June 17 and urge the public to speak against oppression.
Charlottean and Creative Loafing contributor Zach NeSmith drove down with a group of friends to join the marchers and took the following photos. According to NeSmith, the march lasted about a mile. The marchers started at the Wraggs Mall, passed AME Emanuel and came to a stop in front of the Confederate Museum.