By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer
When asked to raise their hands if they knew someone who has been harmed by gun violence in their communities, hundreds of hands went up. Sadly, many of those hands belonged to small children wearing oversized summer program T-shirts and barely able to sit still in their seats.
The youth were gathered at Golden 1 Center last week as part of the Children’s Defense Fund National Day of Social Action that called for an end to gun violence. Sacramento hasn’t been immune to the violence that has gripped the nation recently. June particularly saw a troubling number of shootings, including one that resulted in the death of teen football player Billy Scott Jr. who was killed just hours before he was set to graduate from Grant High School.
The rally was hosted by Children’s Defense Fund California and Sacramento community-based organizations, the Roberts Family Development Center and Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center Freedom School summer program sites from throughout the state traveled to the capital to participate.
“As we note in CDF’s 2023 State of America’s Children Report, gun violence remains the number one cause of death for youth ages 1 to 19 in the country,” said Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of the CDF and its action council.
“Our children have unfortunately adjusted to the reality [that] feeds fear and fatalism about their future,” Dr. Starksy continued. “This year CDF Freedom Schools National Day of Social Action educates young people about policy and community solutions to gun violence, then unleashes their agency to make a difference. Hopefully it will increase accountability for policymakers to respond to these children’s concerns.”
The gathering at Golden 1 Center included Harambe, Freedom Schools’ signature call and response introduction that set the tone for the program. There were also remarks from Roberts Center co-founder Derrell Roberts, Rose Center founder Jackie Rose, and Sierra Health Foundation President and CEO Chet Hewitt. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg championed literacy as an alternative to violence and appeared as a guest reader.
Also addressing the assembled youth was California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Thurmond was a guest reader when the first Freedom School opened in 2019 in Richmond, his hometown, at Nystrom Elementary.
Volunteer organizers, referred to as Freedom Riders, led activities designed to inspire, educate and mobilize attendees.
Later in the week, youth scholars from the Roberts and Rose centers also addressed the impact of gun violence in their neighborhoods during a mock hearing at the Capitol.
For Roberts, the social action events gave off “best day ever” vibes.
“Often in my life, I have heard a 7-year-old say ‘This was the best day of my life!,’ after a field trip with Roberts Family Development Center. Well the last three days felt like that,” the community advocate said on social media with the hashtags #kidsarenotbulletproof, #nationaldayofsocialaction and #gunvoilenceawareness.
“Gun violence is the leading cause of death in children,” Roberts continued. “Let’s change that together.”