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Anti-Gun Violence march takes place in Kalamazoo over the weekend

Kalamazoo River by ruifo is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

The first of three marches against gun violence planned in Kalamazoo this summer took place Saturday in Kalamazoo’s Eastside neighborhood.

“PEACE SMOKE… peace smoke… NOT GUN SMOKE… not gun smoke.”

A “peace smoke” community barbeque will end each of three marches against gun violence this summer. It’s a chance for the community to share a meal with advocates working to end violence, to build trust, and strategize with the community. About a hundred people in baby blue t-shirts chanted down East Main Street during the first march on Saturday. Jordan Watts is an outreach worker with the Urban Alliance’s Group Violence Intervention team.

“We’re out here trying to stop people from committing acts of violence. They’re children and we need your help. We need everybody’s help. It’s going to take the whole community to do it.  And we need to love on people. And we need to show them that their lives matter and that they’re worth living. They’re worth being alive and free.”

Crystal Harris’ son Aaron was shot and killed during a robbery in May.

“Hurt people, hurt people. And so, if you are loving the hurt people, they won’t hurt other people.”

Future marches are scheduled on July 24th and August 7th.