By DIMITRIOS KALANTZIS
Contributing Writer
Uptown awoke this morning to the clash and bang of the Uplift Community High School marching band, which led a procession of more than 120 youth rallying against violence.
Chanting: “Life is for living” and “Stop the violence,” representatives from five citywide communities, including Englewood, Little Village and Uptown, marched down Wilson Avenue from Broadway toward Clarendon Park, halting traffic and garnering applause from the sidewalk crowd.
Spectators joined in the parade, summoned by siren-like bass drums and trombones while others offered up their voice in cheer when the group stopped at the corner of Sheridan and Wilson to “step.”
Organized by Kumba Lynx, an Uptown Hip-Hop art group founded in 1996, and the national Life is Living organization, the rally made its way to Clarendon Park for the 12th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, an event expected to draw more than 500 kids.
This year’s festival took on an eco-friendly theme, “So Fresh & So Green.”
“This has been a process,” Kuumba Lynx co-founder, Jacinda Bullie said, articulating what the green movement means to us, people of color, our communities.”
Bullie said this year’s festivities celebrate “eco-empowerment.”
Others took the time to remember the 36 CPS students killed during the past school year, carrying homemade street signs with each youth’s name, a chilling reminder that anti-violence rallies are needed now more than ever.
EDITOR’S NOTE: LEN will have a slide show up later this evening.
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thanks for covering this event. it was great to witness it and be a part of it. the creativity of the young people there, whether expressed through dance, spoken word, music, or graffiti was impressive. Kuumba Lynx does an excellent job of empowering young people to take control of the projects they work on and i think it’s a great model of a way to teach, learn from, and spend time with young people.
Always good to empower people to address violence… although most parents I know wouldn’t be thrilled that their children were being encouraged to do graffiti in an area with high gang activity.
I noticed neither the police or CAPS was at this event. Perhaps next time. That would help to further break down the barriers that lead to violence.