Mourners gather at Barclays Center to remember Charleston shooting victims

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS (WABC) -- The plaza at the Barclays Center was filled was filled with mourners from all walks of life and different ethnic backgrounds on Sunday night. They gathered as one to cry out against the racial hatred that devastated an historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Mourners lit candles and remembered all nine victims of the shooting. Multiple speakers denounced the racism that dared to enter a house of worship an open fire on innocent Christians praying

Also, in Orange, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie attended a prayer service at Saint Matthew AME church.

Worshipers gathered in Queens Sunday morning to send their prayers for the victims of the church shootings in Charleston, South Carolina.

Parishioners at a church in Jamaica said they would try to find room to forgive suspected gunman Dylann Roof and show solidarity with church-goers in Charleston.

The NYPD has ordered that patrols pay special attention to local churches.

On Saturday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will be among several leaders to attend a rally at Saint Alban's Park in Queens.

The "I Am AME Rally" was hosted by the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York.

Participants also include New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

In Manhattan, a large crowd gathered Friday night at Riverside Church. Civil rights leaders called for strength and love.

"We shall overcome," the parishioners sang.

A powerful civil rights anthem was sung in perfect harmony. It still evokes hope of brighter days even in the face adversity and pain.

For many gathered at The Riverside Church this day was bittersweet, marking the 150th celebration of African-American's freedom from slavery, while at the same time mourning the vicious murder of nine African-Americans inside a historic church in Charleston.

"In this moment where we've seen these vicious murders in South Carolina, to see this kind of love, to see this kind of spiritual tenacity," said Dr. Cornel West, of the Union Theological Seminary.

Martin Luther King III and Dr. Cornel West were among the dozens who filled the pews to honor social justice champions Bill Moyers, Marian Wright Edelman, and Reverend Dr. William Barber, while also praying for peace, healing, and understanding across the nation.

"We have to continue to fertilize the soil so that ultimately one day we as a nation we as a nation will create what my father called was a beloved community," said Martin Luther King III, of The Drum Major Institute.

"It comes as a time to have black and white gather together and understand that if there is to be freedom, and if we are to realize the American Dream, we're going to have to do it together," said Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., of Riverside Church.