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PHOTOS: "Let Me Live" - New Orleanians Gather for Peace Up, Guns Down Rally
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PHOTOS: "Let Me Live" - New Orleanians Gather for Peace Up, Guns Down Rally

The Peace Up, Guns Down Rally brought together children, families, churches, and social justice groups from across New Orleans

Jennsen Bentley
Jun 11, 2022
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PHOTOS: "Let Me Live" - New Orleanians Gather for Peace Up, Guns Down Rally
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Young men from the King Ja'Mere M. Alfred Foundation hold a banner that reads “Let Me Live” at the head of the Peace Up, Guns Down second line parade June 11, 202. Ja'Mere M. Alfred was shot and killed Christmas of 2020 at the age of 14. Photo by Jennsen Bentley

The New Orleans Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) brought together groups from across the city on Saturday for the Peace Up, Guns Down Rally in New Orleans. The rally and subsequent second line parade were held in solidarity with March For Our Lives events across the country.

The stoic faces of these young boys was a stark contrast to the second line atmosphere during the Peace Up, Guns Down Rally in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, June 11, 2022 | Photo by Jennsen Bentley

Mayor LaToya Cantrell created the OGVP in April of 2021, in the hopes of finding a way to end generations of violence in the city. According to OGVP statistics, New Orleans has been ranked among the top five deadliest cities in the US since 1986.

A member of Treme Kids dances next to a drummer during the Peace Up, Guns Down Rally on June 11, 2022. Their shirt reads “Stop the violence Let me grow up!!!” | Photo by Jennsen Bentley

The rally marked an end to a particularly violent week in the city. Ten people were murdered in the stretch from Monday, Jun 6 to Friday, June 10. There have been more than 133 murders in the city so far this year.

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“In the last 40 years, we average over 150 murders every year,” said Patrick Young, Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. “We can’t continue to work in silos as individuals,” Young said, referencing the African proverb, “When spiders unite, they can tie up a lion.”

A young girl waits to start her dance performance at the Peace Up, Guns Down Rally at the Treme Recreation Community Center in New Orleans | Photo by Jennsen Bentley

To make a change in these statistics, Pastor Jonathan Everett called for more consistency among residents in asking for and practicing peaceful behavior.

“We have to be more consistent,” said Everett. “That love that we drop every now and then, that peace that we desire every now and then… Peace is not a product of just prayer. Peace is also a product of practice.”

Kelly Blackwell of the Original Black Seminole Baby Dolls second lines through the Treme neighborhood in New Orleans, June 11, 2022

“We don’t have a choice,” said Rep. Royce Duplessis, referring to the difficult work of trying to step gun violence in New Orleans and across the country. Duplessis hopes to take over Karen Carter Peterson’s senate seat.

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“We don’t have a choice. So no matter how difficult it might seem, no matter how painful it might be, we don’t have a choice. Because these children are depending on us. These children need us. And we know we can do better. We know we can do better.”

Janice Kimble, former member of the Million Dollar Baby Dolls and founder of Children of the World poses for a photo during the Peace Up, Guns Down rally at the Treme Recreation Community Center in New Orleans, Saturday, June 11, 2022. | Photo by Jennsen Bentley

Over the past year, the number of child victims of gun violence in New Orleans has risen. In the first five months of 2022, 13 children were shot and killed - compared to 15 in all of 2021.

Members of The Roots of Music drumline perform at the Peace Up, Guns Down Rally at the Treme Recreation Community Center in New Orleans June 11, 2022. | Photo by Jennsen Bentley

One of the responsibilities of the OGVP is to study the effectiveness of various interventions. They also reach out to victims of gun violence in order to prevent retaliatory violence whenever possible.

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ReportNOLA is the sole creation of Jennsen Bentley - a local, independent journalist who is dedicated to serving the community of New Orleans. As a proud member of the Society of Professional Journalists, they are dedicated to ethical reporting on issues that matter.

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