July 31, 2015
MILWAUKEE - The Youth Leadership Committee of the Hillside TALK (Take Action, Listen & Know) Campaign hosted a "Non-Violence Pledge" ceremony on July 30 in front of the Hillside Family Resource Center, 1452 N. 7th Street. The youth joined other speakers in calling for all members of the Milwaukee community to take a pledge to use non-violent means to resolve conflict. Attendees were invited to sign the pledge and place it in a time capsule that was buried on site to be reopened in five years. The time capsule represents each person's commitment to non-violence over time.
Speakers included Mayor Tom Barrett; Ms. Betty Benson, who lost her son to gun violence two years ago; Dr. Mallory O'Brien of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission; youth leaders Abena May, Sariyah Banks, Antwonnay Strowder and Joy White; Housing Authority Commissioner Sherri Daniels; Hillside Family Resource Center manager Ann Wilson; and Pastor Terrance Moore.
The "Non-Violence Pledge" concept was developed ty the TALK Campaign Youth Leadership Committee, who chose the topic of gun violence as the theme they would study this summer. The TALK Campaign is a neighborhood safety coalition made up of the Housing Authority's Hillside Family Resource Center, Hillside Resident Council, Milwaukee Police & Fire Departments, Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club, and over 15 other Hillside neighborhood non-profits and businesses. Each summer the TALK Campaign brings together neighborhood youth to learn about and develop solutions to an issue they and their peers are concerned about.
For more information about the TALK Campaign, contact Ann Wilson at (414) 224-8815.
Youth Leader Abena May speaks to the media about non-violence.
Youth leaders Dejon Kirk, Abena May and Jordan Anderson prepare to bury the time capsule.
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