Updated at 11:10 p.m.

Annapolis, MD — The topics of race and policing – issues in many cities following the police-related shootings of black men in Minnesota and Texas, along with the deaths of police officers in Texas -- will be the focus of a peaceful march Friday night in Annapolis. Protests have been the norm in many of the country's largest cities following the early July deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. That turmoil was magnified when sniper Micah Xavier Johnson -- a former Army reservist who had grown increasingly resentful toward law enforcement in general and especially hateful of white officers -- killed five Dallas police officers during what had been a peaceful protest march.

Da'Juan Gay, 19, wants his community to share its love for one another Friday night in a peaceful march from Wiley H. Bates Middle School to City Dock. The march is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. tonight. "This march is not out of hate or anger, but love. Love for the city I reside in and love for my brothers and sisters that reside here. This march will be used to show that the community will be taking the first step in closing the gap between officers and citizens," Gay told Patch.

Subscribe to and Like ANNAPOLIS Patch: email | Facebook |news Commenters on social media have criticized the event, worried it will devolve into a riot, but that isn't his goal. Rather, Gay says participants will walk in solidarity with friends and family across the nation to push for change. Capt. Scott Williams of the Annapolis Police Department says police support the rights of citizens to promote their cause through peaceful protest.

Annapolis officials said Friday that drivers should use Rowe Boulevard to enter and exit the city between 7 and 9 p.m. to avoid the marchers.



Gay, a University of Maryland Eastern Shore student, says he spoke to Annapolis Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare at a community event earlier this week and both seemed of the march.

Both chiefs were concerned about safety, "but I think we all are," Gay said. His goal for the impact of the march is to see predominantly black communities treated fairly. Gay says black residents are pinned in certain neighborhoods, creating "black on black crime," which gives those neighborhoods a horrible image.