Featured Photo from May 25 Silence the Violence Rally and March
Written by Tanya Terry
On Saturday, May 25, from 1-3:30 p.m., a Silence the Violence Rally and March started at Flint City Hall, proceeded through downtown Flint and ended at the Flat Lot.
It was an incredible event, featuring a marching band coming from Church of the Messiah in Detroit. Community members from all across Flint came together and stood with local political leaders and law enforcement, all calling for an end to gun violence and pledging to take action to make that happen!
Kenyetta Dotson is founder of WOW Outreach, which has been holding the Unity March Against Violence in the Flint community for 23 years. Dotson told the Courier she felt the Silence the Violence Rally and March was very similar to the local Unity Marches. She said both address crime and violence from a structural and systemic standpoint. Dotson added both address the general culture of violence, where we’re in communities and neighborhoods where the culture of violence seems to be deeply rooted and it echoes back to it being from a systemic standpoint.
“It’s because of oppressive systems,” Dotson said. “It’s because of inequitable spaces and places. It echoes because of the disparities that exists within Black and Brown groups.”
Dotson said violence is often perpetuated because of unmet needs. She pointed out not having food or shelter, not feeling loved or feeling abused or neglected can push a person to the culture of violence, feeling like it’s their only alternative.
At a press event on Silence the Violence, Rev. Chris Yaw, director of St. David’s in Southfield, who was moderator of the event, asked for a moment of silence for victims and the families of those impacted by the May 27 mass shooting in Lansing. Seven people were shot, and one person died. The police were still on the lookout for the suspect at the time.
That shooting wasn’t the only one that has affected the lives of people in Michigan recently. The night before, in Flint, there were two gas station shootings, because of which one woman died. Between Saturday, May 25 and Monday, May 27, there were at least six separate shootings in Flint alone.
Speakers at the event announced a schedule of events for Silence the Violence 2024, which Yaw called the End Gun Violence Michigan’s “month of action.” Thirty events were announced in 24 locations.
Pastor Barry Randolph of Church of the Messiah, in Detroit, helped found Silence the Violence.
“We created Silence the Violence because we had three young people in our community who were tragically gunned down and murdered,” Randolph explained
He said he and other organizers made a promise to the young people’s parents and the community that they wouldn’t just sit back and allow gun violence to take place and they not do anything about it.
Randolph said healing isn’t enough if the root causes of the gun violence were not addressed.
“So, we decided to organize and demand change in Lansing,” Randolph said. “That’s why we became founding members of End Gun Violence Michigan.”
On June 9, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 PM, a New Legislation Teach-In takes place at Vernon Chapel AME, located at 5802 Dupont St., in Flint.
Ryan Bates, executive director with End Gun Violence Michigan, told the Courier what participants can expect.
“Michigan passed the first new gun safety laws last year that we’ve had in 40 years,” said Bates. “It’s a really big accomplishment. They deal with safe storage, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (known as red flag laws), universal background checks, stronger protection for domestic violence survivors-all things that have the potential to save many lives. But people have to understand those laws to be able to use them. So, they’ll be teaching featuring experts and faith leaders on sharing with the community what these laws mean to them and how to use them to protect their families.”
Although registration is not required, it is requested and will allow the future participants to keep informed with what’s happening with the end gun violence movement.
To register for the New Legislation Teach-In, visit www.endgunviolencemi.org/silence
The next Unity March Against Violence meeting will be held on June 13 at Hasselbring at 11:30 a.m. -12:45 p.m. The Unity March will be held June 22 and will initially gather at Ballenger Park.
After the Unity March, a Community Expo will be held at Ballenger Park to help eliminate barriers that exists and allow people to connect with service providers.
“We want everyone to be involved in this movement,” said Dotson. “No effort is too big or small.”
For details on the Unity March, call the WOW Offices at 810-789-7700.
