The Puerto Rican Day Parade was scheduled to take place Sunday, but despite it being canceled due to the pandemic, many Puerto Ricans were still out marching to stand behind the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Marchers started in Washington Heights and made their way down to the First Spanish United Methodist Church, also known as the People's Church.

They church says it wants everyone to know that Boricuas stand in solidarity with black lives.

Organizers say that many in the Latino community consider themselves part of the African diaspora.

"I not only identify, I'm related to my African-American brothers and sisters. We are of the same blood. We are of the same ancestry," says Mariposa Fernandez.

A Puerto Rican activist group, called the Young Lords, took over the church in 1969 because they believed the church wasn't doing enough for the Puerto Rican community.

Rev. Dorlimar Lebron Malave says many of the issues they fought then are the same issues being fought today.

"Boricuas, Puerto Ricans, are also black, right? And so we're both addressing the fact that within our own communities, we can come in all these different colors and we need to support ourselves but also that we're aligning ourselves in solidarity with the African-American experience in this country," he says.