The National Parks Service asked churches and communities around the country to ring bells on Sunday to commemorate the 400th anniversary of slavery in North America.
Maren Larson organized the State College gathering at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza downtown.
“I really wanted to hold up the narrative of black and brown people in this country. I think we need to do more of that,” Larson said.
Rev. Carol Thomas Cissel is the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County. She said the event is an opportunity to remember the entire history of slavery.
“Today we were talking about 400 years ago there was approximately 25 people on a ship," Cissel said. "In the years after that, we lost 2 million people in the middle passage and 9 to 12 million people were sold into slavery. That’s what we have to focus on.”
Cissel concluded by encouraging everyone to ring a bell in their heart, and to get involved in discussions and activities centered around this issue.
