LYNN — More than 100 people took to the streets of the city Saturday in response to recent violence.
Antonio Gutierrez, lead outreach advocate at Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy, said the main goal of the walk was to foster peace in the community.
“We all know about the recent violence and we’re hoping it is going to come to a halt,” Gutierrez, who was one of the organizers of the march, said. “Our city deserves it. Our young people deserve it.”
The march began on Memorial Park Avenue and continued past sites of recent violent incidents, including Essex Street, where two people were shot and killed on Sept. 2, and Lincoln Street, where another person was shot and killed later that day.
The march ultimately ended at Frederick Douglass Park for a speaking program before the Keep Moving Forward Festival.
As demonstrators marched through the streets of the city, they chanted their pleas for the violence to end, stopping at the sites of recent violence for moments of silence and words of reflection.
Mayor Jared Nicholson was in attendance and praised those who organized the march, especially the mothers of victims who encouraged the community to come together.
“I’m so sorry that we have to do this,” Nicholson said. “This violence is not normal and the way we respond is by coming together.”
One of the organizers of the event was Faustina Cuevas, who serves as diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for the city and senior advisor to Nicholson.
Cuevas, whose cousin Jandriel Heredia died in the early morning shooting on Essex Street on Sept. 2, said that the event was a show of solidarity for victims and families impacted by the recent violence.
“As someone who was directly impacted… I felt really compelled to support the organizers of the event, promote it, and offer any support that I can,” Cuevas said prior to the event. “It is a march to make a statement that this has to end so no family has to bury a loved one.”
When speaking to the crowd at Frederick Douglass Park on Saturday, Cuevas noted how important it was for the entire community to coalesce to look out for young people like those who attended the march.
“Let’s protect them and let’s nurture them like they’re our own,” Cuevas said.
Brian Diaz, whose brother Abraham Diaz was another victim of the Essex Street shooting on Sept. 2, spoke as well.
“Without this kind of support, I don’t get through this as easy,” Diaz said. “This is what families need in times like this.”
Liznette Santiago, who came up with the idea for the event and helped organize it, spoke to the crowd about the need to solve the root issues that lead to violence in places like Lynn.
“It is a pressing issue that demands our collective effort and creative solutions,” Santiago said. “Each of us has the power to make a difference through our words and actions.”
Santiago also stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of gun violence including education gaps, poverty, and lack of social and mental health resources.
“Eradicating gun violence requires a multifaceted approach,” Santiago said. “Together we can create a community where the sounds of laughter and joy drown out the echoes of violence.”
