At the D.C. protests, a 'Lean On Me' singalong offered a moment of solace

June 06, 2020

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Demonstrators sing "Lean On Me" near the White House during a peaceful protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 3, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Protests in cities throughout the country have been held after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.Win McNamee/Getty Images

It had been a long, hot day of protests in Washington, D.C. As dusk descended on the nation's capital on June 3, a man in the crowd held up a microphone. The man, Maryland-based singer Kenny Sway, asked the protestors to kneel — and to turn on their cell phone flashlights.

"I asked them if we can light the city up tonight," Sway says.

And with the lights on thousands of phones beaming bright as far as the eye could see, Kenny Sway lifted his voice with a familiar refrain: "Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow." Pretty soon, a chorus of thousands joined him in singing the late Bill Withers' beloved hit "Lean on Me." Sway says it sounded like heaven; it was breathtaking.

"It sounded like unity and togetherness," he says. "It sounded like love and pureness of the people. It was one race. It was one moment."

You can watch the video, which D.C. magazine Washingtonian captured, at the top of this page.

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Washington D.C. protests and statements — People walk down 16th Street after volunteers, with permission from the city, painted 'Black Lives Matter' on the street near the White House on June 5, 2020, in Washington, D.C. After seven days of protests in D.C. over the death of George Floyd, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th Street 'Black Lives Matter Plaza.'
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

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At the D.C. protests, a 'Lean On Me' singalong offered a moment of solace

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