Nonviolence theme courses through Youngstown event
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YOUNGSTOWN – Neither Khaleel Hurst nor Jarrid Lopez needed divinity degrees or a deep philosophical background to clearly articulate and appreciate where they feel the inherent value of acting nonviolently lies.
“Nonviolence means you don’t hit and abuse people,” Khaleel, 7, of Youngstown, said.
“No shouting, no fighting in school. If you’re bullied, tell someone and walk away,” Jarrid, 9, of Youngstown, added.
Both boys’ commitment to that which they spoke bore tangible evidence as they held a sign that read, “We can – we shall – we will stop the violence.”
They also carried the message as they joined hundreds of others of all ages who participated in the 16th annual Nonviolence Parade and Rally Sunday afternoon that started at Wick Avenue and Wood Street, then proceeded through the downtown corridor to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre for a student-led program.
Hosting the gathering was the Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past organization, which also led the parade.
When asked what comes to mind when they hear about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Khaleel and Jarrid showed little hesitation in describing the famous civil rights leader, Baptist preacher and humanitarian as a “good person” who worked for a more peaceful country.
Hundreds of parade marchers representing a diverse set of organizations, agencies, religious bodies and other entities enjoyed a cloudless day with low humidity and temperatures in the low 70s. They included the Junior Civic League of Youngstown, Calvary Ministries, the Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens Association, Youngstown State University athletes, the Youngstown Interfaith Prayer Group, New Bethel Baptist Church, the League of Women Voters, the YWCA of Youngstown, the Brother of Power Car Club, Mercy Health, J.E. Washington Funeral Services Inc., the Rotary Club of Youngstown, Sacred Commons Church and the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office.
“We mandate this for the whole office,” Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn A. Maro said, referring to having her staff take part in the annual gathering.
Specifically, 59 or 60 of her staff donned purple T-shirts and came with the intention of displaying the office’s goal of focusing on bringing peace and justice to the community, Maro added.
For their part, several members of the prosecutor’s office carried a sign that bore a quote from attorney Fred Gray of Tuskegee, Alabama: “If we are to survive as a people, we must slay bigotry, corruption, inner turmoil and conflict.”
Gray, 95, whose clients included King, Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, is this year’s Simeon Booker Award for Courage national recipient and will be recognized during a program Tuesday evening at the Tyler History Center.
The gathering at the amphitheater began with a poignant “Say their names” piece in which Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past members read passages that pertained to several young people who lost their lives to violence in an effort to remember and honor them.
Specifically, the narratives referred to Rowan Sweeney, 4, who was shot to death during a Sept. 21, 2020, home invasion robbery at a Struthers residence; Persayus C. Davis-May, 10, who was killed Aug. 18, 2021, after being struck by a bullet in a drive-by shooting while in her home; and Isaiah Walker, 16, a Youngstown Rayen Early College sophomore who was fatally shot in the chest in Homewood Park on the South Side.
Brittany Bailey, a Sojourn to the Past member, reminded her audience of a memorial bench that was installed in 2021 in Glenwood Community Park, to honor the lives of those lost to violence.
“If we work for peace, we are brothers and sisters,” said the Rev. J.P. Robles of Sacred Commons Church, who led a call and response prayer, each part of which he ended with “Let there be peace on Earth,” followed by “Let it begin with me.”
Robles asked attendees to not confuse the philosophy of nonviolence with weakness, saying that nonviolence is one of the world’s strongest forces – that it works toward eliminating the systemic conditions that often lead to violence and speaks love to power, especially to those less fortunate.
Kira Walker, who’s also part of Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, gave an impassioned speech about how she feels the examples of civil rights figures from the 1950s and 1960s need to be used and emulated to spread the continuing need for equality, liberation and justice. Beyond being a physical or verbal act, violence also takes the form of neglect, Walker said, citing several examples that included children who come to school hungry but don’t qualify for school lunches, officials who ignore life-threatening problems such as poisonous drinking water and situations in which people can’t afford necessary medical treatments.
Walker also expressed deep concern regarding what she sees as the nation traveling “a dark path” in which certain people are stripped of their basic rights and land is destroyed to build data centers few people want.
“Injustice is violence,” she added.
“He knew change had to be planned, intentional and systemic,” Lekeila Houser, a Sojourn to the Past member since 2017, said, referring to the late civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John R. Lewis. “So, I challenge you to be like John Lewis.”
Houser also urged audience members to do their part to bring about needed social change, to not accept the status quo and to vote in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
With a tone of righteous indignation, Mayor Derrick McDowell condemned the city’s eighth homicide in which a man was shot to death just before 3 a.m. Saturday near East Lucius and Detroit avenues on the South Side. Holding back tears at times, McDowell said that everyone needs to stand and lift their voices for the city and one another.
“Freedom belongs to this community,” he said, adding, “We are not our violence; we are victors.”