(NEWARK, NJ) -- On August 20, 2022, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka led a 13-mile “Citywide Peace Walk” through all five of the city’s wards to urge an end to gun violence in Newark and across the county. He was joined by Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Jeffrey L. Matthews; State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz; Assemblywoman Shanique Speight; Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker; Essex County Commissioner President Wayne Richardson; and Newark Municipal Councilmembers.
Nearly 3,000 marchers participated in the walk including families, business owners, and community partners. The march supported collective efforts to create a safer city and end gun violence in Newark and other municipalities across the country.
The walk, themed “Newark Forward Minus Violence Equals Our Future,” commenced at Chancellor Avenue and Aldine Street in the South Ward, made its way through all of the city’s wards, and finished up at West Side High School in the West Ward. Participants, many with raised signs, walked, rode their bicycles, and used scooters, to complete the march.
In impassioned remarks delivered at the end of the “Citywide Peace Walk,” Mayor Baraka said, “The march is for all the folks who are in their house, in their church, in their temple, the neighborhoods, the parents who lost sons and daughters, kids who lost their friends, the silent majority of the people who need to know that we are not alone and all of us are together. Because violence is paralyzing, is traumatizing. That’s why it’s important for all of us to be together. Shout out to everybody who marched. I want to thank elected officials, Newark Police and Fire divisions, the medical crew from University Hospital , and EMS, who made sure we were safe.”
Additionally, during the march, the city provided information and critical resources around housing, education, employment and mental health.
The City of Newark’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery and Brick City Peace Collective, have collaborated in weekly walks with community partners including the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, Newark Community Street Team (NCST), Newark Street Academy, Help Us Become Better (HUBB), and New Direction, leading up to this city-wide march.
Photos credit: City of Newark Press Office
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