Hundreds march in downtown Dayton: 'This is the time to do this'

“I was outraged,” she said. “I was angry. I cried the whole night. I thought, ‘This is the time to do this.’ I decided to channel my anger into peace.”

Hall gained support for the rally through social media on Twitter and Instagram. She said more than 1,000 demonstrators showed up to march downtown.

Sunday’s rally came five days after Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black Louisiana man, was fatally shot by two police officers outside a convenience store on Tuesday. The next day, Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at a public school, was shot in Minnesota during a traffic stop that involved two officers.

On Thursday, 12 officers were shot a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. Five officers were killed and seven were wounded during an event at which hundreds of people had gathered to protest the killings of Castile and Sterling.

Sunday’s rally in Dayton also included a march during which participants walked to Courthouse Square before circling back to RiverScape. Some people chanted, “No justice. No peace,” and “Don’t shoot. Hands up.” Others held up signs that read “Community policing in every town and city,” “Why is my black skin a crime” and “Unity and justice.”

Also on Sunday, supporters of Black Lives Matter held a rally in Cincinnati to show solidarity. Thousands heard from speakers in front of Cincinnati Police District One headquarters for more than an hour, then marched to Washington Park.

Dubbed by organizers as “Enough is Enough: Justice for Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and Sam DuBose,” the march paused at 13th and Republic street to lay roses under a tree near where Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by police in 2001.

The rally culminated at Washington Park with a vigil that saw speakers memorialize Castile, Sterling, DuBose - who was shot and killed last July by University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate - and numerous other black men shot and killed by police officers. Rally participants wrote names of the men and others on compact discs and placed them with a banner in the park.

Back in Dayton, Heather Schroeder, a 41-year-old Centerville resident, said she and her sons, ages 6 and 8, attended the rally to support the Black Lives Matter movement. She also wanted her sons to learn to become advocates for people like themselves and others.

“For myself and my boys, I’m hoping that we can see that there’s hope and that they’re supporting each other,” she said. “I’m hoping that today, what other people can take away from this is that we all realize that everyone has a life and everyone’s life matters. But right now black lives are being targeted disproportionately and right now we need the support of those who are being challenged and marginalized.”

Laura Rea, a Beavercreek resident, said she attended the Dayton rally because she is frustrated.

“As a nation, I know we can do better,” she said. “We’re just not making progress. The violence has always been there, but the cameras haven’t. I think this is finally a tipping point to bring people out off their sofas to say enough.”

Linda Walker-McLemore, whose nephew was shot in the back of the head last year, said she wanted gun violence to stop.

“No matter what the reasons, stop the violence on the policemen,” she said. “The policemen are here to help us. Stop the violence on each other no matter what the circumstances are. All life does matter.”

Staff Writers Kara Driscoll and Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.