The walking vigil proceeded to the Islamic Society of Boston, where Walid Fitaihi, an Islamic Society of Boston board member and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, addressed the crowd.
The next stop was the MIT campus where more students joined the walkers. From MIT to the final destination of the Mass. Ave Bridge, the group participated in a candle-lit, silent vigil to memorialize the lives lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist atacks against the U.S.
Elizabeth Willmott, one of the event’s organizers, said the vigil had three main goals—to remember the people who lost their lives in the tragedy, to start the community healing process, and finally, to create a long term movement toward interfaith dialogue that will address the societal consequences of the attacks.
The crowd was composed of Cambridge community members, students of Harvard College, the Harvard Divinity School, the Kennedy School, and the Episcopal Divinity School.
Participants said the vigil helped them deal with the events on a more personal level.
“I feel like there is some meaning in ritual. It’s an opportunity to both gauge the past and look forward,” said HDS student Joshua Good.