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At least 50 people from different ethnic backgrounds stood in solidarity with the Lawnside community to show their love and condemn the racist graffiti that was spray-painted on borough resident Dawn Hines’ backyard fence.

Saturday’s event was spearheaded by Sharon Ritz, member of Embracing Race – The Conversation, a Collingswood-based organization. Ritz said she was informed about the incident by Myna Barbee, a Lawnside resident and fellow organization member.

“She felt very, very adamant about having this event, which is a beautiful thing,” Barbee said. “Sharon said, ‘We can’t let this happen.’”

Ritz said she had to find a way to express to the town that “the white person, presumably, who did that does not represent the rest of us.”

“It made me very angry to think that this could happen,” she said. “It was such an obvious, obvious affront to love and … peace and kindness and everything else that I know this town is about.”

To date, the case remains under investigation. The description or identity of a suspect is also not known.

Racist attacks are officially classified in New Jersey as  “bias” incidents. The Lawnside incident occurred two days after Donald Trump was re-elected president. Though New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said it was too soon to tell if the attack was connected to the election, many in the community believe it was. They also fear that more racist attacks will follow.

Saturday’s vigil opened with a rendition of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and closed with opera singer Charles McNeil Jr., a Lawnside resident, leading the crowd in singing “Lift Ev’ry Voice.”

This was the second event organized to condemn the racist attack. Last week, residents shared their concerns and discussed how to move forward at a town hall organized by the Camden County East NAACP and the Lawnside Homeowners/Community Organization.

It has been decades since Lawside was subject to a racist attack, according to Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society. Shockley said the last recorded incident was shortly after the borough’s incorporation in 1926. During that time, several residents of Woodcrest  burned crosses on several occasions when that white neighborhood was unsuccessful in trying to secede from Lawnside.

Shockley, who is a member of WHYY’s Community Advisory Board, spoke to the crowd about the borough’s history dating back to the colonial period when Lawnside was known as Free Haven.

“We were taught in our schools the proud history of this community, founded by people who believed in freedom,” she said. “These people followed that desire to be free. It’s a natural human desire to be free.”

Ritz hopes that people walk away with several messages, including that Lawnside residents have neighbors in surrounding communities that care for them and support them.

“I also would like the rest of the world to know that you can’t mess with our friends and neighbors, that we’re here in solidarity with them, to be here in front of them if you come in anything other than love and peace,” she said.