Drop here! Arnie Alpert / AFSC
On a hot afternoon in late August, about 100 demonstrators gathered following the deaths of dozens of young black people due to gun violence in St. Louis. The weather did not stop the participants from bringing the heat in dramatizing the significance of solutions. Titled “For our Future: A Rally to Demand Investment in Our Communities to End Violence,” the action was spearheaded by Action St. Louis and partners such as Deaconess Foundation and the American Friends Service Committee. This event was the first opportunity for AFSC St. Louis office’s Youth Undoing Institutional Racism interns to publicly represent the organization and themselves on a key issue.
The YUIR interns arrived before the event began and immediately got to work. Kayla Reed, Action St. Louis Organizer, gathered YUIR Interns Lauryn Holmes, Kevin Backstrom, and T’Mya Pulphus in a circle to prepare them for the format of the event. Lauryn was assigned to help lead chants between speeches while T’Mya and Kevin would deliver their public statements. It was humbling to look at their determination in this fight for something larger than themselves.
St. Louis YUIR Intern Lauryn Holmes (photo: Harry Wadlington)
Since January, youth in black communities have been killed at a horrendous rate. Kayden Johnson was 2, Kristina Curry was 16, Kennedi Powell was 3, Eddie Hall IV was 10, and Xavier Usanga was 7. The horrific list goes on. To some they are just names, but it is known that they were human beings that had stories, futures, and passions. The rally pointed out that these lives matter and have been failed by systems designed to protect them in St. Louis. Years of lack of funding into social services while public safety (policing) budgets skyrocket deserves part of the blame. Young people suffer because of it.
From left: Jonathan Pulphus of AFSC, MO State Representative Michael Butler, YUIR Alternative Spring Break Participant Shakia Pernal, YUIR Intern Lauryn Holmes, and YUIR Intern T'Mya Pulphus (photo: Brienne Holmes)
The YUIR interns understood the seriousness and significance of the moment when performing their role at the rally. As the event began, the crowd embraced the youth voices. Lauryn led chants such as “Youth Lives Matter” and also carried the burden of naming out loud a list of the youth whose lives were taken away. Kevin took center stage and delivered a passionate response to the tragedies calling out its absurdity. An article on the rally by St. Louis Post Dispatch reporter Mark Schlinkmann quotes Kevin stating that: “People are dying every single day and it’s normal in St. Louis.” T’Mya captured the crowd’s attention around the need for healing, responsibility, and community solidarity, repeating the phrase “We Must Stop Killing Each Other.” All of the interns did a wonderful job in each role they played in helping make the rally a success.