Lakewood Hosts Unity Rally

From Ferguson to Staten Island and all across the country, communities are coming together to share their concerns over race relations, especially when it comes to interactions between minorities and members of law enforcement.

But on Wednesday night in Lakewood, there were no riots, no looting, not even raised voices.  Instead, about 100 people from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds gathered for what Omega 13 Youth Mentoring Program President Dr. Michael Rush said was not a protest at all, but instead, "a unity rally," organized by the NAACP.

Members of the community shared their thoughts and fears not only with each other, but also with representatives from the Lakewood Police Department.  Police Chief Robert Lawson says it's a major step forward.

"I think this is an excellent start of having a dialogue between community members and the police department, identifying any issues and hopefully coming to resolution on those issues," Lawson said.

Lawson says he hopes to revive the township's currently-inactive Civil Rights Commission to help keep the lines of communication open between citizens and police officers.  At the end of the meeting, Dr. Rush said he felt very hopeful.

"The bottom line is, this is not just a hit-and-miss idea," Rush said.  "This is something we need to build on, so we can build our community and make our community a better place."

A "Unity March" is being organized in Lakewood in January.