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SAVANNAH, Ga. After a deadly weekend of violence in Charlottesville, Savannahs Black Lives Matter chapter is currently preparing its response with sights sets on a local and national level.

The group says it is working on a six-week protest to affect change after what it says is injustice to society.

Anthony Smith is an Army veteran and member of BLM Savannah. He said Charlottesville was a turning point for action for himself and BLM.

It just wakes you up. You cant be complacent. You cant wait for good things to happen. You have to be the good things that happen, he said.

Sylvia Wells is a coordinator for the group. She says she is protesting to better her community and to be an example for her family. BLM Savannah, Wells says, is not a hate group but one that is based on understanding, conversation and education.

We dont want any violence, this is something that we stand for is peace, she said. [BLM Savannah] cant control who takes our name and they run with it with the things that they do but we are most certainly arent hateful. We love everybody.

Details are scarce on the protest, including a start date. The groups founder, Pastor Jomo Kenyatta Johnson is currently out-of-town conducting missions work. Johnson and Smith told WSAV there are plans to remove Confederate inspired monuments in Savannah, rename the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, and work towards to removal of President Trump and his cabinet.

The groups desire to remove the Confederate Memorial to the dead in Forsyth Park contradicts Mayor DeLoachs wishes to expand the story of memorial to be more inclusive.

Smith calls the memorial a slap in the face and says the call to preserve the monument is a way to romanticize history of the Civil War and the Confederacy.

BLM Savannah is currently working with other local organizations to organize and prepare for the protest. Smith told WSAV to expect BLM Savannah to be more visible while working peacefully to make a difference in the city and its criminal justice system, including working with law enforcement and elected city leaders.

Our goal is definitely to unify the city and to interface with our government in a way that creates long-lasting change from the top tiers of our government to the lowest individual in our society, he said.

Should law makers decide the statue stays in Forsyth Park, Smith says that while such a decision is not his intent, BLM members are not looking to respond by physically removing the memorial themselves.

Violence is violence. And that type of act enables violence, We cant use the tools of the enemy for our causes and pretend like the end justifies the means, he said.

Smith said anyone is welcome to join and converse with BLM Savannah. Ultimately, he is looking to make Savannah and the country a better place to call home for his children.

If were going to hand it to them in an as is fashion, then we maybe do a little bit more maintenance before the hand off, he said.

To learn more about the chapter, click here.

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It just wakes you up. You can't be complacent. Black Lives Matter Savannah planning protest following violence in ... - WSAV-TV