Students and Champaign-Urbana residents equipped with signs and megaphones took to the streets Saturday afternoon in an effort to raise awareness about important community issues as a part of the fourth annual Unity March.

Increasing police accountability, protecting Section 8 voucher holders and restoring the general assistance fund were among these key issues said Brian Dolinar, who helped organize the event.

“We do this annual march to keep issues on the front burner, to commit ourselves another year to activism and change in the community,” Dolinar said.

Different community groups participated in the march, which had three different starting points – the courthouse in Urbana, Westside Park in Champaign and the Illini Union on campus – and culminated in Douglass Park to the beat of a Mara-Giri drum ensemble.

“We are here to bring people together, to unify the community around these issues,” Dolinar said. “And every year, it keeps getting bigger and bigger.”