Mill roundtable planned as a follow up to #LightsforLiberty vigil

On Friday, Wilmington joined cities across the country with an evening vigil to protest ICE deportation raids, which had begun earlier in the day in New York City and are expected to increasingly impact U.S. communities.

At #LightsforLiberty Wilmington, organized by civil rights activists Erika Gutierrez and Coby Owens along with Safe Communities Coalition, Strategic Nonviolence (Network Delaware), and the ACLU of Delaware, folks gathered in Rodney Square to hear speakers, including Owens, Madinah Averee Wilson Anton, Cecilia Teresa, Dr. Megan Walls and New Castle County executive Matt Meyers.

As always, the moments were captured on Twitter:

I think the end of my speech sums up exactly what needs to happen here in Delaware. We must rise up together and protect all residents regardless of their race, gender, religion or immigrant status. Join us 7/20 for an immigration round table talk✊🏾
#DEStandUp #LightsforLiberty pic.twitter.com/4WtEGgYWIu

— Coby Owens (@CobyJOwens) July 14, 2019

Rallying w/@lauraviviana65 & those who support treating immigrants as humans, deserving of dignity & opportunity, deserving of unity w/family (not loneliness & despair in cages). We can & must do better; we must rediscover our morality & acknowledge their humanity. #DEStandUp pic.twitter.com/DHdeo77WCc

— Sen. Bryan Townsend (@BryanTownsendDE) July 12, 2019

"What I'm here to do is to ask you to fight for us," Cecilia Teresa says at Lights for Liberty in Wilmington. #destandup #netde #FamiliesBelongTogether pic.twitter.com/sv2aNOo0qo

— Jill Fredel (@badgerjill) July 12, 2019

Rodney Square, Wilmington, DE 07/12/19
Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Detention Camps #DEStandUp #AbolishICE #CloseTheCamps pic.twitter.com/f5uDBKFM2P

— fruity father mulcahy (@fruityfrmulcahy) July 13, 2019

“I know of a girl who thought maybe working in the fields was the best option, that maybe her dreams were too big and just dreams but she was able to access a path to college. And that girl was me.” #CLOSETHECAMPS #stepupandmakechange #DACA #DEstandup pic.twitter.com/tKjWJ8OXgG

— Sarah (@Delaware_Sarah) July 13, 2019

#Lights4Liberty Let’s all stand up for our collective humanity! #CloseTheCamps #DEStandUp pic.twitter.com/WNJrsQgh4i

— Mike Matthews (@MikeMatthewsDE) July 13, 2019

As a follow up, Owens, Kerri Evelyn Harris and the Delaware Democratic Black Caucus are inviting members of the community to a roundtable discussion, “Immigration and the Border Crisis,” on Saturday, July 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Mill. Attendees are encouraged to share thoughts on the situation, and to learn more about the current crisis, what constitutes legal immigration status, and how to help on the local and national level.

Seats are limited. Click here to RSVP.