Promote nonviolence on your own, hundreds told at Youngstown rally

Promote nonviolence on your own, hundreds told at Youngstown rally

By Ashley Luthern

aluthern@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

In April, Shannon Sharp took a journey.

She was part of Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, a 10-day, five-state trip to the sites of the civil-rights movement in the South during which students study the principle of nonviolence and create an action plan to bring home.

“I learned not to be a silent witness and to speak up,” she said.

Sharp, now a senior at East High School, spoke clearly Sunday afternoon as she served as emcee of the second annual Nonviolence Parade and Rally that drew hundreds to downtown Youngstown.

The Nonviolence Parade and Rally was sponsored by Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, the Youngstown city schools, the city of Youngstown, the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at Youngstown State University and ACTION.

“We hope this will make people focus on nonviolence,” Sharp said before introducing local leaders.

Youngstown Councilwoman Annie Gillam, 1st Ward, urged those at the rally to continue to promote nonviolence in their neighborhoods.

“You can’t wait for your public officials and ministers to do it for you,” Gillam said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.