Phillipsburg joining nationwide protests with walk against racism this weekend - lehighvalleylive.com

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Phillipsburg does not often hold its own version of national protests. It will on Saturday with a march down Main Street against racism.

Lakeisha Alexander, a resident who is organizing the peaceful demonstration called Walk With Us, told lehighvalleylive.com that residents who experience bigotry want their voices heard, and that others need to realize it happens in Warren County as well as major cities where protests have been ongoing for a week or more.

"There's racism here. There's racism everywhere,” Alexander said.

Walk With Us is scheduled for noon Saturday starting at Shappell Park, with a Sunday rain date. At least 600 people have responded to the event’s Facebook page.

• MORE: Following last weekend’s rallies, more Lehigh Valley protests are planned

Mayor Todd Tersigni confirmed he will attend the walk. Police Chief Robert Stettner will also be there, along with officers both ensuring safety and participating in the demonstration.

“This is our time to listen. And that’s what we’re there to do,” Stettner said.

This march, while inspired by other protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota as a police officer knelt on his neck, is about policing in the U.S. as well as a show of strength against racism in general, Alexander said. She and her family described ways they say bigotry appears in the community, both overtly – like someone calling Alexander’s son the N-word – and subtly, like a lack of emphasis on Black History Month at school.

“It’s the police,” Alexander said, and “it’s the people.”

NOTE: This post originally misquoted Lakeisha Alexander. It has been updated to clarify that the walk deals both with policing and racism in general.

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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.

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Phillipsburg joining nationwide protests with walk against racism this weekend - lehighvalleylive.com
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