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Message of rally and fun day: Stop the violence in Youngstown, US now
By Bob Jackson
YOUNGSTOWN
Baby steps are as good as giant steps when it comes to ending violence.
Just so you’re moving forward.
Those were Toni McBride’s thoughts Saturday afternoon during Imani Community Programming’s Stop the Violence Rally and Community Fun Day at Christ Centered Church on Hudson Avenue.
McBride, executive director of ICP, said she wasn’t sure what kind of turnout to expect for the inaugural event but was pleased with the number.
“I’m really not sure how many people have been here, but I can tell you that we’ve gone through 200 hot dogs,” she said, laughing.
She said she hopes future events will draw larger crowds and spur more people to get involved in the effort to end fighting and killing.
McBride said she’s grown frustrated by increasing violence, both locally and nationally, and felt it was time to stand up and call for an end. She said an incident this week in which a man was shot during a funeral in Tod Homestead Cemetery on the city’s North Side was a glaring example of how out of control the problem has become.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “And people read about things like that and say, ‘They’ should do something about that.’ Well, who is the ‘they’ they’re talking about? It’s us. We all should be the ones who stand up and say ‘enough is enough.’ That’s why we’re here today. We’re taking a stand as a community against violence.”
She said ICP partnered with community leaders and various organizations, such as the YMCA and the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, to ensure that families are aware of activities to keep children occupied during the summer.
Among the participating groups Saturday were members of the Joker’s Wrath motorcycle club.
“We usually get portrayed in a negative way because we’re bikers,” said the club’s vice president, who identified himself only as “Slo.” “But this is a positive event and we’re here to help make a difference. We’re trying to help.”
Spokeswoman Angel Davis, who attends Christ Centered Church, said the biker club annually provides book bags, gloves, and school supplies for children. They also do food drives for Christmas and support other projects aimed at helping children.
“We’ve all lost someone [to violence],” Davis said. “That’s why we’re here today.”
Slo said club members get a unique perspective from their motorcycles.
“Riding through the city, we see a lot of things the police don’t see,” he said. “We see a kid outside who has a problem, we stop and talk to him. Let the situation cool down and talk him through it. Then we don’t have to read about him in the papers the next day.”
McBride said places like Baltimore, Md., and Ferguson, Mo., have caught the national spotlight for violence.
“But in Youngstown, we have our own problems,” she said. “If you want to make a change, you have to start in your own back yard.”