‘Peace Walk’ Against Gun Violence Unites Thousands In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Thousands of people came together for a “Peace Walk” through New Jersey’s largest city last weekend, putting on a public display of solidarity against violence in Newark.

Nearly 3,000 residents took to the streets on Saturday, gathering for a 13-mile march that passed through all five wards of Newark. Participants included community activists, local families, business owners and elected officials, many of whom held signs calling for peace as they paraded through the city.

The message was simple, according to Mayor Ras Baraka: “You are not alone.”

“This march is for all the folks who are in their house, in their church, in their temple, the neighborhoods … the parents who lost sons and daughters, kids who lost their friends … the silent majority of the people who need to know that we are not alone, and all of us are together,” Baraka said.

Violence is “paralyzing and traumatizing,” the mayor added – and that’s why it’s important to remember that there is a way forward.

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Newark public safety officials have said that overall violent crime in the city has been waning over the past few years, with the exception of 2021. Police have been adding patrols in neighborhoods with a “high concentration of crime” and have boosted the number of Shooting Response Team and Criminal Intel personnel.

But a big part of the year-over-year drop in crime has been credited to the city’s renewed approach to public safety.

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Newark police have also been working alongside local community groups and nonprofits, hoping to end the cycle of violence and stop future tragedies before they happen.

Even though several criminal justice experts have pointed to the “groundbreaking success” of Newark’s new approach to policing, the violence – when it happens – is still a “collectively felt trauma” for those neighborhoods, local organizers previously told Patch.

Over the past few months, tragic violence hasn’t been a stranger in Newark – and it has often involved guns. Recent incidents have included a drive-by shooting that wounded nine people, a mass shooting that injured four teens, and fatal shootings that claimed the lives of several Newark residents and others who live outside its borders, including the owner of a corner grocery store. And on Friday night – the evening before the city’s Peace Walk kicked off – a fatal shooting on the 200-block of Orange Street claimed the life of a 29-year-old Newark resident.

Meanwhile, illegal guns continue to be seized across the city. In July, Newark authorities announced that more than 400 illegal firearms have been confiscated so far this year, a 33 percent increase in recovered firearms this year over the same period in 2021.

The violence has reignited cries for action from many people who live in the Brick City. For weeks, community groups and activists have been holding marches and rallies in advance of Saturday’s “Peace Walk,” visiting the sites of recent shootings to mourn the victims – and call for change.

Participating groups have included the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, the city’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, the People’s Organization for Progress, the Brick City Peace Collective, the Newark Community Street Team, Newark Street Academy, Help Us Become Better (HUBB) and New Direction.

• See related article: Dreams Of Peace Endure In Newark Amid Wave Of Gun Violence
• See related article: Newark Residents Keep Mobilizing Against Violence In The City

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