Breaking The Chains in conjunction with Cincinnatians Uniting to Denounce Violence hosted their first “Stop the Violence March & Rally” on Saturday. The Peace march started out on the corner of Rockdale and Reading Road. The walk was followed by a rally at Rockdale Park. We heard emotional testimonies from Dr. Ken Davis, the lead trauma surgeon at UC Hospital, who shared with us the many victims of gun violence he has treated. The numbers were alarming! We also heard from Lt. Greg Thelia– Fire Department, Berdo Allen– Breaking the Chains Youth Development coordinator, Pastor Emmis Tait– Project Nehemiah/Ceasefire/CIRV, Officer Jordan-District 4/Community Liaison, and finally Cincinnati Police Chief, James Craig.
Throughout the oration the statement “we have a problem here” was heard repeatedly! We were asked “have you ever seen a gun? Have you ever had a gun pointed at you? Have you ever been shot?” The more questions were thrown, the more hands raised high in the air. Again the phrase was said “We have a problem here!”
As Chief James Craig spoke about his experiences in law enforcement, he also went on to explain why he chose to take on the task to lead our officers in Cincinnati. The more he spoke, the more he roused the crowd. We cheered as he committed to combating the problem at hand, alongside each one of us. We can take back our city, but its going to take all of us in order to achieve this goal. “We’re all in this together”!
Stop the violence! Increase the Peace!
Producer of the Russ Parr Morning Show M-F 6-10am
On-Air Sunday’s 10-2pm
