FLINT, MI -- Members of the community gathered Friday in Flint for a Stop the Violence rally focusing on educating the city's youth.
The Stop the Violence rally was held at the Greater Flint Arts Council in downtown Flint on Friday, May 22. More than 30 people attended the rally bringing their children to be part of the event.
Organizers said the event was to bring awareness to violence in the city, but also served as a fundraiser for scholarships they plan to offer students in Flint.
Barbie Biggs, one of the organizers of the rally, said one of the goals of the rally was to educate young people to choose peace instead of violence. She said she was pleased so many people came and brought their children.
"I think if more of us took time to educate, like the parents who took the time to come here and just educate the children." Biggs said. "I think it makes a big difference."
Biggs lost two of her sons to violence and said the pain had devastated her life. She has one surviving son, and being involved in the community keep her busy and keep her going.
"It shackled me." Biggs said of the pain. "It took my life. I'm not the same person I used to be. When they took my sons, a part of me died."
Dewaun E. Robinson is a facilitator for the Stop the Violence rallies and said Friday's event is the first of many to come. Robinson said Friday's rally started a dialogue on how to prevent violence by working together with law enforcement and within the community.
"If we can stop crime before it happens, that's the best choice." Robinson said. "And when we get involvement from the police force, elected officials, and community members that really helps us come up with solutions. So the whole purpose is to find a positive vibe with people, in order to find solutions."
Robinson said a good relationship between the Flint Police Department and the community is needed in order to stop crime in the city. He said without that relationship the violence will continue.
"Ultimately we have to work together to stop crime. We can't expect police officers to do it themselves, just in general we need to take the initiative ourselves as a community." Robinson said. "We come together and we're talking about ways that we have new ideas that will be beneficial to our neighborhoods, and then the police have ordinances and different ways that they can be advantageous for us also. We're just bringing them together and working with our resources, and we're coming together as a community."
Flint Police Chief James Tolbert spoke to the crowd at the rally about the different ways to avoid a situation turning violent.
"One thing we know about violence is it's not the way." Tolbert said. "At the end of the day, it's not the way because violence is a result of the inability to resolve conflict."
Tolbert explained to the crowd that with every homicide a minimum of 20 lives are affected. He said there's a circle outside those 20 people that radiates out.
"When you have one homicide and it has an immediate effect on the lives of 20 people, it changes the course of history when you have a homicide because that's somebody's child, somebody's parent, somebody's sibling." Tolbert said. "So all these people in the surrounding family structure loses that individual. It has an immediate impact and it changes the life of 20 people minimum."
Biggs said there will be three Stop the Violence rallies. The next rally is scheduled for June 27, from 6 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. at GFAC. A third rally is planned for July and Biggs said they will be giving away school supplies and clothing.
Amanda Emery is a police reporter for MLive-Flint Journal. Contact her at aemery@mlive.com or 810-285-0792. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.