Protesters peacefully gather outside Decatur Civic Center

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Protesters made their way to the Decatur Civic Center Saturday afternoon to peacefully protest racial injustice in the U.S.

It's one of the many protests across the U.S in wake of the recent death of George Floyd.

Dozens held signs reading, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor", "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Silence is violence."

One of the protesters, Mark Girdler, is a member of the Decatur Defensive Action and Mutual Aid Team. He says this issue spans far wider than just Minneapolis.

"This issue may seem very distant to a lot of people, but there's a lot of things in town that people should be concerned about," said Girdler. "If you're looking and saying 'Oh that kind of thing couldn't happen here', it could absolutely happen here and anywhere."