With quiet, focused footsteps and strong, driven voices, hundreds filled Wick Avenue in a march for justice.
Sunday's gathering echoed calls for change after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last week.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying "justice will not be served until those...unaffected are as outraged as those who are."

"I see my privilege and I'm using it today in ways I think I should be using it," said Janelle Toy of Clarion, PA. She and Jared Jordan of Youngstown say that's the mindset they brought to the march.

"I think it's really important for multicultural groups to be visible in this so it doesn't feel like an us versus them sort of mentality," said Jordan.

"I worry about it every day," says Danyell York, who came with her two children - encouraged by the large and diverse crowd - but exhausted by her reality.

"One day I'm going to be a grandmother, they're going to have children. I'm going to worry about them too. When does my worry get to stop about their safety in the community? That's why I'm here today," York said.

Deonte Stubbs came from Warren to be part of Sunday's march.
He wants other black men and women to find a platform and use their reach to make change.

"People are taught to survive but they're never taught how to live. That aspect, it's a click in your mind, you have to change how you think," said Stubbs.

That sentiment of not letting others write the narrative is also driving Joe Napier.
While he worries for men and women, boys and girls who look like him, he says he's optimistic Youngstown can set the tone.

"I think it starts with our leaders," Napier said. "I think they're capable and competent to hear the message of our young people here and to do something about it."

A message on this day heard loud and clear.