Local Organization Participates In Nationwide MLK Sit-In Event

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local group participated in a nationwide event Saturday afternoon to bring attention to the violence the African-American community faces.

New Voices Pittsburgh, an organization dedicated to health and well-being of black women and girls, and other community organizers held the MLK Sit-In event on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, since Pittsburgh does not have any other street, park or boulevard named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The MLK Sit-In events, organized by activists Feminista Jones and Leslie Mac, took place in cities across the country. All gatherings took place on streets or at landmarks named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

L'Oreal Snell, the organizer of the local event, said the event was held to protest the criminalization and violence against the African-American community that has been going on in both local communities and across the nation, but they also wanted to make the protest a celebration.

"I think it's just because people are tired. I know, for myself, I'm tired. I wake up everyday really anxious about everything that's going on," Snell said. "Everyday you hear about somebody getting killed, somebody getting shot. You don't know what's going on in the world, and we just need something where we need a whole space to celebrate, but also to have a protest."

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"We're here for black lives, we're here for women, black women, we're here for women of color, we're here for the LGBTQ community, for trans women, and we're here to breathe, we're here to uplift," Snell said. "And we just want everyone to know that we're here to hold space."