CHICAGO—Chicago’s Saint Sabina church, led by Father Michael Pfleger, located on the South Side in the Auburn Gresham community, kicked off its annual Peace Takeover, calling for an end to gun violence.
Hundreds of community residents, mostly teenagers, attended the June 5 rally and march wearing free blue Peace Takeover shirts, listening to music, patronizing the food truck, and taking in the messages from the church’s steps before taking to the streets to promote an end to gun violence.
“Do not wait for something to happen on your block. Make peace on your block,” Father Pfleger said. “Peace does not just happen. It is made. It is created. It is established. This is not the time to stay in your house; this is not the time to be overwhelmed, to be afraid.
This is the time to get out on your street, your block, your neighborhood and get out to make sure everyone knows you. We are not accepting anyone getting shot in this city.”
The Chicago area, among other cities, has experienced numerous “teen takeovers,” where a large gathering of teenagers and young adults congregate, and many have become disruptive.
Trevon Bosley, co-founder of St. Sabina’s B.R.A.V.E. Youth Leaders, stated to The Final Call, “I think the teen takeovers are a multitude of many problems, such as the lack of community spaces, lack of engagement of parents with their children.
And also a lack of social interaction among the youth. Possible solutions could be communities coming together to help single parents and overall showing love for one another.”
Memorial Day weekend in Chicago the teen takeovers escalated to violence, resulting in 32 minors being arrested for unlawful weapons possession to battery on police officers.
Committed to making Chicago streets and spaces safe for everyone, Chicago-native, Chance the Rapper, was an invited speaker to reach the youth.
“The entire idea of this event, is to be able to walk with peace, and to show we are still willing to live and experience peace through all the grief,” he said. “We are not just willing to create peace, but to force peace into our spaces.”
And 13-year-old Aliana agreed, acknowledging that peace is attainable but not yet in reach.
“We walk for peace because we don’t have that. We have to come together and thank Jesus, thank God for our lives,” she said.
Shawntell Muhammad can be contacted at [email protected].
