Community
activists in Newark took to the streets in the name of peace as part of
the Stop the Violence march.
It
comes as the city has seen even more shootings take place the past few
months. The city's Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery are behind
this, along with the Brick City Peace Collective.
“We
want Black Lives Matter to matter to Black people. We should be more outrage when we
do it to one another, and I believe we're too quiet on the issue, and
that we have to raise the awareness, we have to raise the cry, we have to show
that people still care,” says Sharif Amenhotep, co-founder of the Newark
Anti-violence Coalition.
From
the start of the year up to July 17, Newark has so far seen 82 non-fatal
shootings, 26 murders and 665
aggravated assaults.
“My
message to the youth is that it's OK,” says Shadee Dukes, co-founder of New
Direction. “We're out here with you, it's not just leaving you guys out here on
an island and just trying to condemn your actions, but also to be here
with you, to listen to you, so that we can better assist you and find out how
we can help you.”
The
organizations plan to march every Thursday through Aug. 20 when an even larger
march against gun violence is set to take place with Mayor Ras Baraka.