Cities United’s ‘Walk It Out to End Community Violence’ peace walk is a national effort to honor lives lost to violence and promote community-based solutions. The organization recently held a walk in Louisville’s Russell neighborhood as part of this nationwide effort.

Community-Based Solutions

Ahmaad Edmund, a Cities United member and local pastor, emphasized the importance of fostering hope, education, and community-based solutions to violence. ‘Build up the person; we will have stronger communities. If we have strong communities, we have a stronger city. If we have a stronger city, we have a stronger state. If we have a stronger state, we’ll have a stronger country. If we have a stronger country, we can have a stronger world,’ Edmund said.

Monica Brown, Cities United’s finance director, noted that the organization’s work is centered on young Black boys and men, their families, and the communities affected by violence. ‘We are intentional about lifting up the voice of young black boys and men and their families and the communities that are impacted,’ Brown said.

Former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, one of the first mayors to sign onto the initiative in 2011, praised the group’s prevention work, citing a significant decrease in homicides nationwide since 2024. ‘What you’ve seen all over the country now since 2024 is a significant decrease in homicides. Coincident with that has been a lot of investments in cities in the intervention and prevention work,’ Fischer said.

Original reporting: WLKY Louisville — read the source article.