BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPOUD) — Friday marked the start of a community involved weekend promoting unity and raising awareness to end gun violence.
The 7th Annual Pedaling for Peace rally took place at Shopper’s Value on Government Street and made its way to Howell Park. Mothers and family members who lost someone to gun violence got the chance to speak out and talk about the need to end gun violence.
June is known as National Gun Violence Awareness Month, but June 7 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The color orange symbolized the efforts to raise awareness. Participants at the event wore orange shirts and wrote the names of the loved ones they lost to gun violence on orange flags.
Mayor Pro Tempore Lamont Cole organizes the event every year and hosts a series of other events for community members to get involved in to have their voices heard. He says everyone’s goal is to find safer things to do for the youth and to continue lowering the crime rate across the city.
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“I think people recognize we all want the same thing. We want to live in a safe, healthy city where our young people and the citizens of Baton Rouge can go outside, work, play, be safe and raise our children. And so that’s the message,” said Cole.
Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, also attended the event to show her support and efforts to help the fight to end gun violence. Fulton says that sticking together is what makes their voices heard and their support well known.
“I think it’s important that we stick together, and we unite, and we do something to show support, not just say you support something in theory. You got to show something. You got to show that you really support,” said Fulton.
The mother of Tyre Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, was also in attendance.
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There will be two more events to discuss solutions to fighting crime this weekend. “Life or Death the Silky Slim Story” will be premiering at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at the AMC Theatres location at the Mall of Louisiana.
A Mother’s Cry luncheon will be held from 1:30-4 p.m. at the BREC Headquarters Sunday, June 9. It is a heartfelt panel and conversation featuring mothers who have lost their children to violence. Fulton and Wells will both be participating.
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