MEMPHIS, Tenn. — This year has broken the hearts of many Memphis families who have lost children and teenagers to gun violence. Thirty children have died from gun violence in 2020.
As a step in the right direction, a unity walk against gun violence was held on Saturday in the Medical District to raise awareness about how we can stop the violence. Parents, like Stevie Moore, who have lost children to gun violence shared their emotional stories.
"We cannot continue to see our babies die at these alarming numbers," Moore said.
Moore, the founder of Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives, is a father who lost his son in 2003 and continues to fight for his son and other children who have been killed by gun violence.
"We want to go across this whole community with this same message that we have got to stop this violence in our community," Moore said.
Mayor Jim Strickland said we need to keep in mind the children who have died from this violence.
"Please remember not necessarily the statistics, but the names," Strickland said.
Moore said it's important to associate faces with this mission. He invited the parents who have lost children to gun violence to share photos of their children at the walk.
"These are not numbers," Moore said. "These are our children that have died."
Moore and other parents who have lost children to gun violence speak up and try to foster change so no other parent must feel this pain.
"I’m standing here today so no other mother has to go through the same pain," said a mother who lost her son to gun violence. "No other father has to go through the same pain."
Other ways you can help is by starting a neighborhood watch association, teaching your children peaceful conflict resolution, and if you lawfully have a gun at home to properly secure it.