This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Candles flickered around Salt Lake City's historic Trinity A.M.E. Church on Friday as dusk approached.
The flames illuminated 15 faces, black and white, sitting together on fold-out chairs or on the steps of the church at 239 E. 600 South.
Church members organized the Friday evening vigil to remember the nine people killed in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. shooting last month.
The church's pastor Nurjhan Govan said she didn't want the world to forget that others issues need to be addressed. Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in a Texas jail cell, was also on Govan's mind as only the latest incident to spark national discussions about race.
"We have a problem, and we need to recognize it and not push it under the rug and act like it doesn't exist, because it's happy to think about it like that," Govan said. "That doesn't make it go away. What helps is… dealing with it."
At the start of the vigil, nine of the attendees stood up to represent the nine victims in the Charleston shooting.
By design or not, holding the vigil outside gave passing cars on 600 South a view of the mixed-race congregation sitting together, and of the church's stained-glass windows brightly lit against the night.
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