This artwork, created by Minneapolis artist Andres Guzman and adapted by event organizer Aja St. Germaine, is featured on the Facebook event for the George Floyd Remembrance Vigil and Community Discussion.

On Sunday afternoon, Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, the president of Eau Claire-based Uniting Bridges, and Aja St. Germaine, a third-year UW-Eau Claire English student, will host an online vigil in remembrance of Minneapolis resident George Floyd’s life to spark inclusive conversations about social justice in the Chippewa Valley through Zoom.

“We want to see everybody there because this is everybody’s problem,” Ducksworth-Lawton said, “and we’re stronger together.”

Floyd’s death Monday while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers – one of whom was arrested on murder charges Friday – has sparked unrest throughout the Midwest, with protests and fires in Minnesota and a flurry of posts on social media throughout the Chippewa Valley in solidarity with people of color.

“We want to see everybody there because this is everybody’s problem, and we’re stronger together.” –Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, virtual vigil co-organizer

Organizers are hoping for an honest conversation in Sunday’s 3pm Zoom meeting, Ducksworth-Lawton said, with diverse perspectives from everyone. The event is sponsored by Uniting Bridges, UWEC Anti-Racist Faculty and Staff, and UW-Eau Claire’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Student Affairs Division.

“We want people to reach past race,” said Ducksworth-Lawton, a professor of history at UWEC.

The vigil will begin at 3pm, and speakers will include state Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and other community members.

Uniting Bridges’ mission is to educate, she said, and to help the community stay strong. In her role as president of Uniting Bridges, Ducksworth-Lawton said she is trying to prevent what happened in Minneapolis from happening in Eau Claire.

Ducksworth-Lawton has played an integral role in the training of Eau Claire police officers through Chippewa Valley Technical College, and is a member of the Eau Claire Police and Fire Commission. She says Eau Claire has a more unified community, with businesses and organizations often working together rather than competing. When hiring the new chief of police, Ducksworth-Lawton said the community was more actively involved.

“To build that trust,” she said, “they have to be involved.”

To make the meeting more accessible, she is reaching out to local radio stations in the hopes of broadcasting it. She is also hoping to stream it over Facebook Live so folks can use their cell phones to tune in. Ducksworth-Lawton encourages allies to put candles in their windows to light up Eau Claire on Sunday, she said.

In addition to the vigil on Sunday, many community members are starting book clubs to read various perspectives on race.

“Book groups are perfect,” St. Germaine said. “One thing I hear across the board is to read, read, read.”

They recently read the book How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, which they said broke down aspects of racism piece by piece.

“Take it upon yourself to reflect, be introspective,” St. Germaine said. “Ask yourself where you’re getting (your) information.”

Samantha Kobs, another Chippewa Valley local, recently took to Facebook to organize a book group around the book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo. She purchased five copies of the book to give away so others could join. Four others joined, and, as of Friday, at least 10 others have asked to join – deciding to purchase the books for themselves or to pull out their own copy.

Her goal is to explore the topics of racism, privilege, anti-blackness, and white fragility, she wrote on Facebook.

“I’m just hoping that actively reading literature on the topic of institutionalized racism, white privilege, and anti-blackness will better prepare me and everyone else involved to have more critical conversations,” Kobs said.

Dotters Books has also curated a list of anti-racism books, which they posted to their website.

Ducksworth-Lawton previously hosted a reading program called “One Read Eau Claire,” which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think book groups are great,” she said, “but they’re not enough.”

She said it’s important to learn how to have conversations with each other and to actively encourage bipartisanship, which is what she hopes to foster on Sunday.

“What we need to say is investigate,” she said. “This jumping to conclusions has to stop.”

For more information on the George Floyd Remembrance Vigil and Community Discussion, check out the Facebook event.