Dorchester residents demand peace in their community

Serghino René

Wearing purple ribbons symbolizing peace, residents of Dorchester’s Bowdoin Street neighborhood made one thing clear: they want the violence to stop.

Braving the cold weather, a crowd of youth, city councilors and community activists voiced their message of peace on the corner of Bowdoin and Topliff streets during the Community Peace Day event last Saturday. It was a jumpstart to a series of events and initiatives that the rally’s organizers hope will help turn the community from a hotspot to a safe haven.

“We didn’t want to wait until the warm weather came,” said Lynn Currier, director of Haitkaah Social Justice Center, a program that helps low-income and minority youth. “By then it would be too late. We wanted to start getting the message out as soon as we could and put it on the radar screen.”

Boston’s first homicide of 2007 took place at Clarkson and Hamilton streets, where Jason Fernandes, 14, was gunned down following a family gathering less than six hours after the clock struck midnight to signal the start of 2007.

Tiffany Johnson of Dorchester is a youth worker for Teen Empowerment, a youth organization that develops strategies to solve problems in high-risk neighborhoods. She says it’s imperative that change start with the youth.

“Peace will only come about through change,” said Johnson. “That’s what I am all about.”

For Sandgie Centrio of Dorchester, it was a little more personal. She lost her cousin, Nelson DePina, a few months ago to gun violence. She says most of her family time has been spent going to wakes.

“How many times am I going to shed tears and wear black?” said Centrio. “This is an emergency. People need to realize that whether they know the victim or not, they will get affected in some way.”

A march organized by Haitkaah and Teen Empowerment soon followed. A crowd of about 20 was led by a Boston police cruiser down Bowdoin Street where their chants of “Stop the violence” and “No more killings” captured the attention of passersby, shoppers, drivers and residents.

They continued, taking a right on Draper Street, a right at Homes Avenue and a right onto Hamilton Street where they paused for prayer. As the marchers walked down Hamilton Street — a street that has become synonymous with violence — back to Bowdoin Street, nearly every member of the crowd yelled out the name of a loved one who had lost their life to violence.

This event was just one of a series around the city, responding to the citywide call for a state of emergency for peace. The initiative is a collaboration of youth, residents, churches, activist groups, agencies, law enforcement, and city and state officials to develop strategies to take back control of their communities.

“Youth aren’t our enemies. They are our partners,” said Stanley Pollack, director of Teen Empowerment. “They are an investment and they will give back to us if we put the time into them.”