Third annual Empowerment for Peace Walk in North Columbia
Serve & Connect along with several local organizations and residents gathered at the Palmetto Terrace in North Columbia on Feb. 26 for the third annual Empowerment for Peace Walk under the theme, "Restore the Village: the Tipping Point."
The strength and resilience of a community coming together over calls for peace were the setting for the third annual Restore the Village: Peace Walk. This year, as with years prior, we are continually appreciative and encouraged by our community’s commitment to a collective mission for peace. Thanks to the voices of North Columbian citizens, this year’s North Columbia Empowerment for Peace Walk event was an undeniable success, moving us one step closer to a safer, more cooperative community for all.
On Sunday, February 26th, more than 200 community members joined together alongside law enforcement officers from local and county departments to highlight youth leadership and encourage community-wide support for peace over violence.
The event began at noon with a community-building event at the Palmetto Terrace community. Participants gathered for a sign-making event to help them express their support and make their voices heard. Community leaders, community violence survivors, and police voices were shared along the march route starting at the Palmetto Terrace community traveling one and a half miles through the Booker Washington Heights Community, Colony Apartments, North Pointe Estates, and ending at a block party at Bayberry Mews community basketball court.
“This is a call to action that originated purely out of the community,” shared Erica Staley, Columbia Coordinator with Serve & Connect, “Community members wanted to take a symbolic stand against gun violence, to acknowledge the lives lost, but to also affirm life. This walk is a walk for peace, a walk to uplift youth, a walk for partners to join together in a stand symbolically and literally against gun violence.”
Thank you to all of our Columbia friends and neighbors who joined us for this year’s event! Special thanks to the City of Columbia, Columbia Police Department, Richland County, and Richland County Sheriff’s Department for their partnership with the North Columbia Youth Empowerment Initiative in organizing this year’s walk.
