Join BMA for their last neighborhood walk next Saturday.
Members of the Black Male Alliance will meet at 7 p.m. next Saturday, September 5, in the parking lot at the corner of Church and Dodge for its fifth and final neighborhood walk for the summer.
The group of Black men, convened by community activist Nathan Norman, who is also program supervisor of the City's Youth and Young Adult outreach division, held a kick-off rally August 7 following three homicides that took place in Evanston over just four days in late July. The rally called for peace and a stop to gun violence in Evanston and to announce five weeks of outreach into areas of Evanston most affected by gun violence.
The group, which Norman says is an organic and authentic response to the recent violence in Evanston, comprises community activists, community police officers, residents, and members of faith-based organizations.
"We're going to rally together and then walk the streets of Evanston in an effort to band together and express concern over the violence that has been happening in Evanston, and the negative impacts it is having on the community, specifically Black males," said Norman at the rally.
"We are also concerned about social injustice, anti-Black racism and white supremacy, and how these social ills contribute to negative life outcomes for young Black men,” he said. "We'll spend time with community members, listening for solutions to neighborhood violence, and sharing resources with them."
Members include: Jermey Mccray, Maurice Wilkerson, and Genaro Hernandez, all of whom are outreach workers for the City; Kevin L. Brown, former Youth and Young Adult Division manager; Evanston Police Department Officers Adam Howard, Lloyce Edwards Spells, and Corey mcCray; Rick Marsh, community activist and president of Curt's Cafe; Oliver A. Ruff, activist, retired educator, and member of OPAL; Pastors Rick Thomas, Karl Angelia Adair, and Demond Mills; Robert Pressoir, Robert Reese, and community activists Justin McCray, Jeron Dorsey, Alando Spud Massie, and Bamidele Ali.
If you'd like to support the Black Male Alliance's efforts, community members are welcome to meet the group next Saturday at the starting point at 7 p.m.
Read more about the Black Male Alliance.
Read speeches from their kick-off here.
Short video montage by Kevin L. Brown.
