BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's been another peaceful day of protests in Buffalo.
Niagara Square, which was the scene demonstrations, confrontations and even vandalism and violence during the past week, has seen peaceful protests throughout the day on Sunday.
A crowd had assembled there on Sunday afternoon, then calmly walked down Elmwood Avenue to Bidwell Park, where they stopped to rest and get some refreshments. This was a large group of thousands that again was peaceful in nature.
The scene then shifted to a significant event at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, where hundreds turned out for a prayer and solidarity rally.
Numerous speakers from the interfaith clergy, along with community groups and advocates, told the crowd that they were asking for prayers and pleas for peace to heal this "troubled community."
Various groups and politicians such as Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown appealed to the diverse crowd, seeking change in a way that no one else would be hurt. The NAACP, interfaith clergy, community groups, labor unions, and police reform advocates were all there.
Some people there specifically spoke of ongoing efforts to stem police brutality and called for reforms for police oversight.
The Mayor later told 2 On Your Side about his decision to end the curfew after consulting with city council, Buffalo Police and state police leadership, and especially community groups and protest organizers.
"After all of those things and some of the difficulty we have experienced in this community this week, I decided it was time to lift the curfew," the mayor said. "Also community organizations, community activists have indicated that the peaceful organized protests that they hold, the people will police those events. The people will make sure that those events are safe."
There was a minimal police presence around the protesters, with just police blocking off some side streets for their walk down Elmwood Avenue.
And another peaceful march took demonstrators from City Hall this afternoon all the way up Elmwood Avenue to Bidwell Parkway.
The organizers behind the event say it was about showing Buffalo's black and brown community that they have allies who can't ever understand what they've gone through, but who will stand with them.
The event also encouraged people to register to vote afterward.
