Members of our community plan to peaceably assemble on Saturday in downtown Effingham to promote unity and racial equality. We applaud and support this effort.

We’re proud to have neighbors who feel the gravity of these times, and the need to speak out. We support anyone who loves their country enough to use a right that the founders cherished so greatly that they listed it first in the Bill of Rights.

These are not outsiders. They are our neighbors and classmates, our co-workers and members of our churches. They cheer during their community’s accomplishments and grieve during its tragedies. Now they want to foster something that’s important in any community: Discussion and understanding.

"It’s all about peace and it’s all about inclusivity, no matter who you are," said Christa Kabbes, 24, who grew up in Effingham. She recently earned a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Eastern Illinois University.

Kabbes, who is white, formed the Effingham Social Justice Group on Facebook on Monday in reaction to the demonstrations that have shaken the nation following the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers who have since been fired and criminally charged.

"I honestly thought it was going to be me and 10 friends," Kabbes told us.

By Thursday afternoon, the group had nearly 1,000 members.

One of the first to join was Matthew Robinson, who is black and has lived in Effingham since he was in sixth grade. He’ll speak during Saturday’s gathering. Robinson, 19, is a 2018 Effingham High School graduate. He will be a junior at North Central College in Naperville in the fall, studying Small Business Management. His goal is to own a gym one day.

He told us that he sometimes feels like an outsider here.

"Just different things I’ve noticed growing up – like, how people look at me when I walk in public," Robinson said. "How people look at my family. How at some restaurants we go to in Effingham, we’ll get asked if we are visitors. And we’ve been here I don’t know how long. Over time it just takes a toll on you because you feel like you’re not accepted, you’re not wanted in your own community."

He feels that speaking out can help bring out the best in people.

"I still 100 percent want to be a part of this community," Robinson said. "I just want to be part of the change that can be brought to this community. There’s tons of great people in Effingham. There are tons of people that have helped me with so many different things while I’ve been here. And there’s a lot of people who constantly show love and support.

"But at the same time, there still needs to be a change. That’s why we decided to do this and go about it the right way – so maybe we can be the start for that."

You can start by joining them. They’ll gather at noon at the old courthouse square, with speakers and other activities scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

You don’t have to agree with this group of your neighbors – we vigorously defend the rights of everyone under the First Amendment, which is why we print it every day at the top of our Opinion Page. But we hope for this to be a peaceful and useful gathering.

To everyone: Please demonstrate your love of your community by doing nothing to tarnish your community.