Thousands of Armenians, their friends and family marched from the Massachusetts state house to the Rose Kennedy Greenway to call attention to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Organizers say the event was designed to honor the memories of the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed and the countless others who were driven out of their ancestral homeland by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.
"It became a systematic attempt to exterminate an entire people," said Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. "It began with hundreds of our leaders being taken away from us and summarily executed."
Joining in the commemoration which featured traditional Armenian dance and song, with some of the state's top political leaders, who expressed shared frustrations with the Armenians that President Obama has not acknowledged that a "genocide" occurred.
"I think he has, you know, a weight that he's giving to how unhappy the Turks might be," said Sen. Ed Markey. "But Pope Francis made it quite clear last week that a genocide has occurred."
Markey added that he has not gotten any sense that Obama may bend on that stance.
"The Armenian people just want the truth acknowledged," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "And if we're not willing to tell the truth, then we truly do run the risk that this will happen in other places around the world."
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Among the crowd were three Armenians, all over 100 years old, who survived the genocide, and countless others who have heard the tragic stories passed down from grandparent to parent of what happened a century ago, and why it is so important they say for the truth to be told.
Organizers are thrilled with the turnout and attention the event received, but they say they are already looking to next year's 101st anniversary as they hope the U.S. policy on this issue changes - soon.
