WHO: Kiamsha Youth Empowerment Organization partnered with National Alliance of Faith and Justice
WHAT: Community Event – March on Washington for Mentors and No Violence
WHEN: Friday, May 3, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
WHERE: March will commence at 4th St. and Jefferson Drive SW, Washington, D.C. and continue to The Lincoln Memorial
WHY: This march is occurring in direct response to the silent epidemic of growing high school dropout rates and the increasing number of these youth who are incarcerated daily in the United States. Gun violence is the cause of too many senseless deaths each year. Youth from across the country have formed to challenge their peers to trade “The Pen(itentiary) for Pencils (Education)” and to pledge that guns will not be the answer to solve disputes.
Additional Information:
The PEN or PENCIL™ program is a youth-led movement that launched nationally in 2007 by Mrs. Addie Richburg, formerly of the Bureau of Prisons. The goal of the program is to provide encouraging lessons and positive role models from the Civil War to Civil Rights eras to aid the youth in gaining the courage needed to end gun violence in the United States. In the Metropolitan DC area, the program is offered by Kiamsha Youth Empowerment Organization. For more information, visit kiamshayouth.org
