COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dozens of North Columbia residents marched for unity Sunday in the Colony Apartments neighborhood. The community gathered for an “empowerment peace walk” in hopes of inspiring their neighbors to put down the guns.
The popular community event returned after taking a year off due to COVID-19 with the mantra "restore the village."
"Encouraging peace and unity is the main priority,” organizer Omari Fox with Serve and Connect said.
He added that the walk was specifically geared toward kids and young adults.
“They are the future, they are tomorrow, so we’re trying to use this as a watershed moment to speak to a larger day-to-day commitment to peace,” said Fox.
One North Columbia teen leading the charge was 15-year-old Asyia Bellamy.
“I’ve experienced first-hand what violence in a community can do to you," Bellamy shared. "I almost lost my brother, a couple of my cousins have passed away and it’s just like, I would like [to] save somebody else’s child.”
While making signs for the event with her family, Asyia shared that they’ve lost loved ones to gun violence and accidental shootings.
Her main message for the community: "Put the guns down." She hopes more people learn how to talk out their feelings instead of resorting to violence.
According to police, violence has increased over the past couple of years in Richland County and South Carolina as a whole. Fox attributes some of that to the pandemic.
“I think COVID exacerbated stress levels in areas that are already under duress, so there’s been domestic violence increase and unfortunately that neighborhood violence,” Fox said.
Participants hope the peace walk inspired their neighbors to choose love over hate, and unity over violence. The walk started in two different neighborhoods and ended with a resource fair for the community.