SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — More than a hundred people gathered to discuss how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would respond to the death of Earl Moore Jr. 

The Unity March is held annually to celebrate King's legacy, but organizers said this year had a different meaning. 

"Each and every year it takes on a different message and today, sadly it took on the message for Earl Moore Jr. and what happened in our community and how we can pull together to really dive into what happened and look at our entire system. Because the bottom line is, we want to make sure that everybody feels they are treated equally," said Jim Langfelder, the Mayor of Springfield. 

City Leaders, the Chief of Police, the Presidents of the ACLU and NAACP chapters, representatives from Black Lives Matter, Students at the University of Illinois Springfield, and community members all spoke about the impact of Moore Jr.'s death, and what they hope to see come out of it. 

"We stand for justice for all and we know that the only justice that Earl will get is bringing him back to us and that will not happen," send Kenneth Page, the President of the Springfield Chapter of the ACLU. "But we will make sure that other things do in fact happen and the ACLU will stand for constitutional rights, civil liberties and civil rights of all citizens."

City Leaders promised changes, and said they plan to work together to make sure that another situation like this doesn't happen. 

"I want to assure you that going forward, we're going to put in policies and procedures to ensure that nobody will put their hands on people right in front of us, no matter who they are, even paramedics," said Shawn Gregory, the Alderman for Ward 2. 

Local activists said Springfield should be leading the charge on fighting racism, because it inspired the creation of the NAACP. According to the NAACP's national website, the founders of the organization were appalled at the violence visited upon Black residents during the 1908 Race Riot in Springfield.

The Springfield Chief of Police, Ken Scarlette, said the Department is committed to discussions that will improve the city. 

"We can work together and we can have these difficult conversations when necessary to ensure that we get the best and the most the brightest outcome," said Scarlette. "That's my commitment."

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