Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

At Bowling Green Unity Walk, Hundreds Come Together for Diversity and Inclusion

Supporters of refugees and immigrants in Bowling Green hope a weekend unity walk and prayer vigil helps bring the community even closer together.

More than 500 people marched in downtown Bowling Green Saturday afternoon.

Many participants said they were especially excited since a U. S. District judge in Seattle ruled President Trump’s ban on travelers from seven mostly Muslim countries illegal just hours earlier.

The hundreds of marchers began at Bowling Green’s First Christian Church. Senior minister Meagan Houston said the march was a show of solidarity among many different groups of people in the city.

"Our neighbors who look like us, and those who don't. Our neighbors who speak like us, and those who don't. Our neighbors who pray like us, and our neighbors who may not even pray at all."

Houston said the prayer vigil was an opportunity to show those neighbors they’re not alone.

Imam Sedin Agic, the leader of a mosque in Bowling Green, said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who showed up at Saturday's event. He said many non-Muslims in the area have been going out of their way to make him and other members of his mosque feel like they’re an accepted part of the community.  

"When I go to my mosque and I see the flowers, and the messages that say, 'You are welcome, We stand with you, We are supporting you'--that's really amazing."

Agic said many Muslims around the country are fearful, uncomfortable and feel they’re not welcome. But he doesn’t sense that in Bowling Green.

Related Content