New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
‘They are not forgotten’
New Haven gathers to mark lives of homicide victims, support families, with caravan and peace rally
NEW HAVEN — Residents came together to mark the lives of homicide victims, support their families and stand together in fellowship Saturday at the eighth annual rally for peace organized by the New Haven-based Bereavement Care Network.
Nakia Dawson-Douglas, founder and president of the organization, said she started the network after a friend, Donell Alick, was shot and killed in 2011. Alick’s mother asked her for help; she saw the need and pain families in such situation face, even after well-wishers have moved on. The group now meets with the families of homicide victims and offers support on into the future, she said.
She said the goal of the rally, which featured music, vendors, dancing and ceremony Saturday, is to help link families of homicide victims together, allowing them to grieve in fellowship with one another, and make a statement about the importance of stopping violence in New Haven. This year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the event also featured a mobile caravan instead of a march in the city.
“(The hope is that families think) these people are dealing with the same thing I’m dealing with,” said DawsonDouglas. “I’m not alone.”
The 2020 iteration of the rally was also organized, in part, by Ekklesia Global Worship Assembly, which has churches in Hamden and Waterbury.
Bishop Randall Furlow and members of the church were offering prayers and spiritual support at a tent Saturday. Furlow said he hoped to help alleviate the pain families felt when considering the deaths of their loved ones and, through the event, perhaps cause members of the community to reconsider wielding force and violence on the streets of New Haven.
“New Haven’s my home ... when people are hurt, are bleeding, I feel it,” said Furlow, noting he grew up in the city. “Maybe, by that one little pause (of reflection), someone’s life can be saved.”
The family of Jericho Scott, a 16-year-old New Haven resident shot and killed on Exchange Street in 2015, sat together in a vehicle emblazoned with his name and a message urging people to put down their guns.
Leroy Scott, Jericho’s father, said they had been a part of the rally each year since he was killed.
“It’s a positive situation, to march against gun violence,” said Scott. “It’s something we have to do... there’s too much violence in the streets.”
Leroy Scott said his son was killed accidentally, as part of a drive-by shooting aimed at another individual. He had been a talented baseball player, with such a good arm that, at 9 years old, he was barred from pitching to his peers. He had been about to graduate high school, with scholarships on the table.
Scott pointed to his grandson, sleeping in the car, and said members of future generations like him deserved to be able to grow up in peace, to walk the street and play in the park, to live without fear.
Celeste Robinson-Fulcher, the mother of Erika Robinson , shot and killed in 2013, was there with the Survivors of Homicide support group, sharing pictures of cold case homicide victims with the community. She is also helping to create a memorial garden for homicide victims, which is expected to include bricks engraved with the names of victims going back decades.
“I’m doing it for my daughter, and the other people who have lost lives, to know that they’re not forgotten,” said Robinson-Fulcher.
Robinson-Fulcher said she had attended each of the peace rallies. They bring awareness to gun violence and do something positive for the communnity as well, she said, noting that there were vendors and drill teams there.
“When they come to an event like this, it’s positive. It’s positive for me,” said Robinson-Fulcher.
Nancy Jordan, victim services officer with the New Haven Police Department, was there helping share information about cold cases as well. She heads monthly meetings and calls for homicide victims as part of her work to those victimized by crime in New Haven.
Jordan asked community residents to come forward with any information they might have about a slaying. Information can be offered anonymously, either through the department’s tip line — 1-866-888-TIPS — or to her directly at 203-946-5916.
“We need the community, just like the community needs the police,” said Jordan.
Dawson-Douglas presented awards to Chaz Carmon, president of Ice the Beef, and former Mayor Toni Harp as part of the event. She had been a member of Ice the Beef, which works to dissuade young people from engaging in violence, before starting the network and wanted to recognize Carmon’s work; Harp had supported the organization while in office, including designating the last Saturday in September each year as a day to remember homicide victims.
Carmon dedicated the award to the entire Ice the Beef membership and passed the microphone to its youth president, Manuel Camacho.
“Here’s to a more united future for our neighborhood family,” said Camacho.