Before embarking on an hour-long peace march to raise awareness for youth violence at Evanston Township High School Tuesday afternoon, an event organizer warned more than 100 participants to specifically avoid foul language.
But one four-letter word in particular could not escape their frustrated emotions.
“We just need to stop. We need to stop,” said Earlette Wright, a substitute teacher who was handing out anti-violence banners. “We need to reach out in any way and if this helps, we’ll do it. It needs to stop.”
Her sentiments were not uncommon throughout the march’s one-and-a-half-mile route, which encompassed the block surrounding the public high school at 1600 Dodge Ave. Organized by the ETHS NAACP student chapter, the after-school walk strove to mobilize community activism in the wake of a daytime shooting at the Dempster Street McDonald’s April 11.
Parading through area sidewalks sectioned off by police supervisors, march leaders rallied participants through megaphone calls ranging from “Peace now” to “Join the movement.” They also chanted variations of the student group’s freshly launched campaign, “Stop the Violence, Stop the Funerals, Start the Peace, Start the Love.”
One of those vocal marchers, ETHS student Jean-Luc Walthall, said he was inspired to participate after witnessing the afternoon shooting as it played out. He described his immediate reaction as “Get down on the floor” when he suddenly heard two shots behind him.
Walthall, too, could not resist that four-letter word.
“We need to stop this,” he said. “The more we do stuff like this, the more we can stop this.”
Walthall was a part of what Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington said was a “very positive turnout” despite on-and-off rain throughout the peace march. He cited the Evanston YMCA executive board, which delayed their 4 p.m. meeting to participate, as a prime example of community solidarity.
“It’s a nice representation from across the city,” Eddington said. “Hopefully they’ll send a message that these acts of violence are unacceptable and there are other ways of conflict resolution besides firearms.”
YMCA executive chair Vickie Burke agreed that the recent shooting reawakened a cyclical effect that has long plagued the west-side neighborhoods surrounding ETHS. She said the re-emerging violence is something “we always have to be vigilant about.”
Still, Burke added that ultimate responsibility to prevent such senseless violence falls on the entire city population.
“It’s an issue for us, and we like to support our community,” she said. “It’s our community.”
And Wright assured that this sense of unity will not be short-lived. She said the NAACP student chapter is seeking to eventually extend their new campaign to Evanston elementary schools as well as host pro-peace lectures and workshops.
“This is not going to be our only mark,” Wright added.
