For the past 25 years, on Mother’s Day, people have joined together for the Annual Walk for Peace at the Dorchester Fields Corner Town Field.
Almost 15,000 individuals are murdered in the United States every single year. For every person that is murdered, there are approximately ten individuals who are impacted directly by the loss of a loved one. With loss comes emotional, physical, and financial stress, and there are around 150,000 people who experience this each year. Losing a loved one is extremely traumatic, and this walk was created by the Louis Brown Peace Institute in order to support those who have lost someone in this manner.
Louis Brown, a 15-year-old young man with a brilliant future, dreamed of becoming President of the USA, was tragically killed in the fall of 1993, an innocent victim of gang violence. His mother, Tina Chéry, committed herself to help address inner-city violence and work with families affected by violence. At the time of his death, there were no resources for family members of homicide victims, and she and her family were left alone. She founded the Louis Brown Peace Institute in memory of her son.
The first program Louis Brown Peace Institute created was a curriculum “to teach the value of peace” to students and teach them how to handle grief and trauma due to violence. The program has been nationally recognized as a primary prevention tool for violence. In the mid 1990s, the Boston Police Department began referring families of homicide victims to the Louis Brown Peace Institute for guidance and support during the chaos of loss. They have helped countless families heal from the pain of losing someone to homicide and are truly an incredible organization.
We would like to take a moment to congratulate and thank Tina Chéry and the Louis Brown Peace Institute for their contribution to preventing violence and working with families who have lost loved ones. There is no message more powerful than mothers who have lost their children to violence who urge young people to stop.
William and Paul Evans were proud and privileged to participate in these marches each year, along with thousands of others. The march has grown tremendously but unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the march will not be able to occur in person. On May 9th at 9 am, the walk will be held virtually at www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org. Any and all support provided to Tina Chéry and the Louis Brown Peace Institute would be deeply appreciated.