Michael Brown Sr. addressed hundreds in St. Louis' largest park on the even of his funeral following this month's controversial shooting in Ferguson, Mo.
What did he ask for, with the eyes of a nation on him?
"Tomorrow all I want is peace," the grieving father of the late teenager pleaded at a festival that promotes peace over violence. "That's all I ask."
The more than two weeks since the younger Brown's death have been marked by nightly protests, some of them violent and chaotic, in the St. Louis suburb.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who was set to speak Monday at the funeral for the teenager shot and killed by a police officer, echoed his request for peace.
"We don't want anything tomorrow to happen that might defile the name of Michael Brown," Sharpton said. "This is not about our rage tomorrow."
"It's about the legacy and memory of his son."
Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown's mother, told the crowd that McSpadden and her family saw Brown's body for the first time today since the shooting.
The crowd began to chant, "We love you. We love you. We love you." McSpadden composed herself and softly said, "Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you."
Peace Fest 2014 was already in the works before Officer Darren Wilson shot Brown on August 9 in Ferguson, but it took on new resonance in the aftermath.
The parents of Trayvon Martin also spoke, urging the crowd to channel its anger into action by pushing to strengthen families and better educate youth.
The protests in Ferguson have been mostly peaceful in recent days, a contrast to images of police in riot gear firing tear gas in the days after the Brown shooting.
Tensions briefly flared then subsided late Saturday night and early Sunday; last night, Common gave a tribute to Michael Brown at the MTV VMAs.
Niesha Thomas, who attended Peace Fest, said she hopes this week is "a new start" in which people put "irrelevant, unproductive" disputes behind them.
"This should be a pivotal point where we move forward," Thomas said.
That might not be so easy. A grand jury has started considering evidence in the case and some local residents and officials have said they're concerned.
A failure to return an indictment against Wilson, they say, could stoke new anger in the community. The U.S. government also has launched its own investigation.
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