They didn't know the nine people killed in a South Carolina church this week, but the members of the small group that gathered Friday on McKeldin Square did know something about the pain inflicted on a community grappling with tragedy and questions of racial injustice.
The two dozen people, making what gesture they could to honor the lives lost in Wednesday's shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, held yellow signs bearing the victims' names, and formed a circle as they prayed for "the arms of protection" to fall around those affected by the massacre.
The Rev. Cortly "C.D." Witherspoon, speaking in the cadences of a preacher, told the vigil that the church shooting had a connection with the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last year, because it underscored the struggle to overcome stubborn racial and economic inequalities.
"We're going to continue to hold up the bloodstained banner," Witherspoon said through a bullhorn. "We're going to continue to demand justice."
The crowd stood near the Inner Harbor, waving signs that read "Black lives matter" and "Stop the war on black America," as drivers honked in support on their rush-hour commute out of the city.
Witherspoon noted that the group had come to this same corner to pray "time and time again."
There were as many whites in the prayer circle as blacks, and the Rev. Lori McPherson, who is white, said that should not be a surprise to anyone. McPherson, a Baltimorean who preaches at a church in College Park, said she came to the vigil to stand in solidarity with people across state and racial lines.
"It just resonates," she said. "It just shows how the pain has really touched the hearts of everyone."
The gathering was planned by the Peoples Power Assembly and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and organizers noted that similar vigils took place across the state and country as people tried to come to grips with the killings.
Authorities say 21-year-old Dylann Storm Roof sat with worshipers at a Bible study session at the historic church in Charleston for nearly an hour on Wednesday evening before opening fire.
Six women and three men were killed.
Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm in connection with a violent crime.
For Sara Benjamin, 24, the vigil was an opportunity to seek some solace in the aftermath of tragedy — to find, in her word, interconnectedness. But it also served, she said, to remind people of the underlying struggles in communities of color.
"What I see among the people is helplessness," said Benjamin, who grew up in Baltimore. "No matter how far we get, we're brainwashed to believe we're not good enough."
twitter.com/jfritze