LYNN — 1,400 eighth-grade students packed into the Lynn Auditorium this week to learn that “violence is not normal,” from two speakers who know first-hand the consequences of engaging in street violence.
At Stop the Violence’s sixth guest speaker series, teens heard from Lynn District Court Justice Ina Howard-Hogan and Teen Empowerment Program Manager Thomas Koonce, a Marine who was exonerated last after spending more than 30 years of his life incarcerated for murder.
While incarcerated, Koonce received a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. He is the cofounder of the Restorative Justice Group, which brought some of the first restorative justice retreats and healing circles to Massachusetts state prisons.
“The justice system said that I would never go home — that I would die in prison one day. I’m standing here before you as a living miracle to say that you should never give up in life — never,” Koonce told the students.
The event took place less than 24 hours after a 16-year-old Wendy’s employee was shot in the shoulder through a drive-thru window Tuesday Night. Ward 6 City Councilor and Stop the Violence founder Fred Hogan said that the recent shooting added a level of meaning to the event.
“We’re proactive — we try to get these things going before stuff happens, so then we can teach these kids that incidents like this aren’t normal,” Hogan said. “Everything was in place already when the incident happened. We already had those 1,400 kids in motion to City Hall, and then we thought we actually could use that as part of that as our message that this isn’t right.”
Hogan and Mayor Jared Nicholson briefly spoke to the children about the shooting before Hogan repeatedly exclaimed, “Violence is not normal!” — a message that the kids echoed back with equal enthusiasm.
“Let that sink in. Don’t ever accept violence as being normal,” Hogan said to the kids.
Stop the Violence, a now 9-year-old organization focused on steering the city’s youth away from street violence and crime. Hogan said that this year’s guest speaker program brought in the largest crowd yet.
“We had help out from everybody making sure we could squeeze everyone in there,” Hogan said.
Howard-Hogan, a Lynn native, told the kids that if she could make it through law school, and become a judge, they could achieve their dreams as well.
“There were so many people who told me back when I was in the eighth grade, that that was only a dream. It’s not a dream. That little kid from Lynn, who sat where you’re sitting today, and was told that it’s not possible — it is possible. I’m a Lynn judge, I’m your judge,” Howard-Hogan said.
Hogan said that the event aimed to encourage eighth-grade students —in a transitory and vulnerable stage of life— to make the right choices. Koonce echoed this goal toward the end of his speech.
“The thing about our choices is once we make them, they turn around and make us — either good or bad,” Koonce said.
