Story highlights "The energy here is beautiful," one woman said of the vigil

Attendees shared the vigil by word of mouth, emails and text messages to ensure safety

Charlottesville (CNN) Thousands gathered Wednesday night for a vigil at the University of Virginia days after violent clashes in Charlottesville led to the death of a woman during a white supremacist rally. The crowd sang, "we are not afraid," a verse from "We Shall Overcome."

The vigil organized by students and faculty grew from word of mouth, phone calls, emails and text messages as the university community tried to begin the healing process. The attendees refrained from publicizing the vigil on social media to ensure everyone's safety, organizers said.

People cupped candles, and sang spirituals, hymns and "The Star-Spangled Banner" in a roughly quarter-mile long procession that began at Nameless Field and ended at "the Lawn," near the Rotunda. They had walked the same route that torch-bearing white nationalists marched Friday protesting the removal of the Confederate statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Someone recited Maya Angelou's poem "I Will Rise," and the crowd held a moment of silence for the three lives lost on Saturday.

Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville. pic.twitter.com/f31QHpXlMi — Nora Neus (@noraneus) August 17, 2017

Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal was killed when police said James Alex Fields , 20, drove a car into a crowd protesting the "Unite the Right" rally . The collision also injured 19 others.

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