Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
Dozens and dozens of women, men and children gathered Sunday for a rally on a windswept corner in St. Louis, Missouri, for a rally to call for an end to violence that has earned their community the dubious distinction as the "Most Dangerous City in the Nation.''The League of African American Women, a nonprofit organization, and several other groups came together to use women's soaring voices to help lower skyrocketing violence. King's birthday celebration is the perfect time to draw attention to the nagging problem because of his legacy and commitment to peace. Speakers urged one another to fight against the violence and to act as a solution.
Carrying placards, holding hands and chanting, "They killed the king, but they can't kill his dream,'' an estimated 100 people came together for the hour-long rally at one of the city's most dangerous intersections at Natural Bridge Rd. and Newstead Ave. on the North Side. Residents, young and old, battled a temperature of 20-degrees with a slight wind to participate in the emotional event that drew tears and shouts of hope. Dozens thrust signs in the air, including some that read, "be the peace,'' and "black life is valuable.''
"I had a flood of emotions," Zekita Tucker, executive director of the League, who is photographed on the right, said before the rally. "Participants brought their children and thanked me for holding the rally. I was just happy so many people showed up for such an important event. It was very emotional.''
St. Louis, which has been struck hard by the recession, was named "America's Most Dangerous City'' based on an FBI report for the first half of 2010. At year's end, the city saw 135 homicides, eight fewer than 2009.
One person who lost his life amid those grim statistics was 17-year-old Rahmel McNeil, a high school student known among friends and teammates as a positive role model. He was gunned down after walking away from a neighborhood brawl. Sixteen-year-old Terron Pool was charged in the killing that was precipitated by encouragement from friends who urged him to shoot McNeil as he walked away from the fight.
In another senseless killing, John Thornton, known as the mayor of Washington Park, was murdered after giving a ride to a hitchhiker, who robbed him and then shot him twice in the chest. Police arrested Aaron "Chill" Jackson in the murder after a month-long manhunt.
"It's important that black women in this town have a voice,'' said Marsha Cann, who participated in the rally and serves as director of 40 Corners, a program for teens that offers a series of studies and performance workshops to help them develop a perspective on the civil rights movement, and Dr. King and his dream. "We hope to increase the peace in this city. Through 40 Corners, we hope to catch teens before they get incarcerated. Poverty is a big factor in violence in the city among our young people. Because they lack resources, they feel disconnected. We want to let them know that they can be part of the problem or part of the solution. We claimed this corner for peace.''
Tucker said it was the first time African-American women in St. Louis tackled violence in a uniform voice. "Most of these things are led by men,'' she said. "We want to work beside them and bring women to the forefront, which is not something we see all the time.''
But the real work begins after the rally, she said. The League used the rally to join forces with groups like 40 Corners and others based in dangerous communities in the hopes of developing constructive programs to combat violence. One of those programs is the Green Therapy Youth Program, whose goal is to keep teens off the streets and away from violence by beautifying neighborhoods through horticulture. The League offers stipends to teen as an incentive to remain involved in the single-gender program, which helps them keep their focus, she said.
"We want to help transform them,'' Tucker said. "It's been a long time coming and represents what Dr. King's dream was all about.''