'Put the guns away': Car parade through Chicago's South Side calls for peace amid deadly shootings
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A colorful car parade on Chicago's South Side brought together dozens of people in a celebration of peace, unity and hope on Sunday.
"Put the guns away. Let the kids play," protesters chanted through Morgan Park.
Organizers of the motorcade are looking to reconcile the Black Lives Matter movement with the cycle of Black on Black violence that persists in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods.
"We would hope and pray that things would change, but the bottom line is there has to be action," said Sandra Warren, of the Ada Park Advisory Council. "It has to happen, and it takes all of us."
"I'm tired of seeing all the violence out here," said Eddie Baker. "I mean, little kids are getting hurt. It doesn't make any sense."
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Among the participants in Sunday's rally were Morgan Park residents and members of various nonprofits, including Wallace "Gator" Bradley.
Bradley, a notorious former gang enforcer turned peace activist, called out those responsible for taking the lives of so many young children over the last few weeks.
"If you pick up a gun and you fire that gun, anyone that gets harmed from you firing that gun, that is an innocent bystander," Bradley said. "We're asking the community: ostracize them. Push them out. Don't let them hide anywhere. Don't support them and let law enforcement do their job."
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Amidst sadness, there was also hope and pride towards what has become one of the largest political movements of our time.
"I'm grateful to be alive and witness, and be a part of and experience this movement," said Morgan Park resident Neila Adams. "I'm grateful for our young adults and our youth who are taking action, because man, they are the future."
