Peaceful BLM caravan rolls through three suburban communities

About 30 carloads of people caravaned through Lake Zurich, Barrington and Palatine Saturday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Guest speaker Clyde Mclemore, founder of the Lake County Black Lives Matter organization, addressed the crowd for about 30 minutes, sometimes getting emotional, before the caravan began its journey. He and his son were the only Black people in the crowd.

"White silence is hurting us all. We need you to speak up," he told the crowd. "We need your white privilege."

Over 84% of Lake Zurich is white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The family event was organized on social media by mothers Abby Riley of Deer Park and Erin Siemens of North Barrington. They both have children in the Lake Zurich school district and had them at the initial gathering at Lake Zurich High School. The event was not associated with the school district.

"I want to raise my children to not be silent," Siemens said. "We're just trying to make sure this community continues to stand up."