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West Philadelphia Churches Urging People To Vote In Wake Of Fatal Police Shooting Of Walter Wallace Jr.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - In West Philadelphia, as that part of the city begins to heal from the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr., churches are urging people to go out to vote. The election is now just six days away.

There is no doubt the city is going through a lot right now. However, the message is to use the power at the polls rather than resorting to violence.

"Come out, come out, show yourself. Show yourself at the polls, show up," said canvasser Renee Wilson.

An urgent plea to get people to the polls on Election Day. Canvassers walked door to door in West Philadelphia on Wednesday to get people out to vote.

"Day by day, brick by brick, voter by voter, family by family we're going to get our city back," Wilson said.

Approximately 200 people were at Malcolm X Park Wednesday for a "Get Out the Vote" rally.

The canvassing took place in the same neighborhood where Walter Wallace Jr. was killed by police Monday afternoon, and just blocks from the 52nd Street corridor that was looted Monday night and Tuesday.

"Some would assume we're here simply because of the injustice that was done two days ago but even without that there's a deeper issue of system racism," said Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.

The rally is organized by the group Unite Here. They are an organization made up of area churches. They say they are at the park to mourn the death of Wallace Jr., but also to urge people to vote.

They say police brutality is an epidemic, and that the separate epidemics of street violence and COVID-19 should excite people to go out and vote.

They say, while everything won't be changed immediately, voting is a start.

"Voting is the way that we're going to make change. It ain't going to come overnight, we already know that," Wilson said.

"We got to keep pushing every single day. Today, tomorrow, Election Day, and every day after that because we got to make sure that we elect people in office that has our same values in mind," Nicole Hunt with Unite Here said.

"We knocking on the door of the state House, we knocking on the door of City Hall, everybody will be held accountable! If you can't fix this for us, you got to go. We deserve to be able to live. We deserve to be able to survive. We deserve to be able to flourish," lead canvasser Broderick Pitts said.

From the park, they're going door to door canvassing the neighborhood to get people out to vote.

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