Anti Violence March in Morningside Heights
Anti Violence March in Morningside Heights
On Thursday, March 25, 2007 a coalition of community organizations and individuals joined together for a day of anti-violence action that included a march and all day workshops. The early morning procession of placard-carrying health professionals, educators, clergy and activists made their way along Broadway to chants of “Stop the violence.” Approving passers-by blew car horns and applauded.
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The purpose of the day, convened by The Interchurch Center, was to draw attention to the increase in violence and especially the alarming increase in intimate partner victimization (IPV). Dr. Cynthia Diaz, head of one of the sponsoring organizations, New Theological Seminaries Women’s Center, put it this way, “Victims too often suffer in silence. The day was designed to give all those affected by violence and especially IPV a platform to voice their grievances and to work with others towards solutions.”
In a world where timing is critically important to success, the New York Police Department released on the day of the march the latest crime data, revealing a significant spike in serious crime. The activists assembled deemed the report a prophetic confirmation of the urgency of their cause. The numbers detailed a dramatic increase in serious crime during 2009. Shootings, robberies and rapes have increased and the citywide murder rate has jumped by 22.8% with the sharpest recorded increases in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The day-long workshops that followed the march had a two-fold purpose: bringing together individuals and community leaders concerned with the rising tide of violence – especially incidents involving women – and providing victims with support and practical solutions.
The workshop sessions opened the door to personal and painful discussions experienced by both men and women. The most compelling session came early in the day where women revealed their personal accounts of victimization and grief. One such testimony was delivered by Minister Sharon Bierria who recounted her deep grief following the stabbing death of her son, Tyshawn Bierria, top student and basketball star at State University College of Technology at Delhi, NY, murdered weeks before graduating. Her gripping testimony revealed the near maddening pain she endured and how she found the strength to continue and through her loss, create Jing Jing Ministeries, a support group for victims of violence.
The chemistry of the moment often yields breakthrough insights. One unexpected presenter who stopped by to hear what was going on, later returned to read a poem she wrote on her struggles to overcome physical pain and personal loss.
Violence is a menace, globally and locally. Every day around the world a war is waged against women and girls, taking millions of lives and causing incalculable suffering. Approximately one of every three women globally has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.
A recent United Nations study framed the issue this way, “The distress and injuries caused affects families, communities and wider societies, preventing women from taking full advantage of economic and educational opportunities and threatening security by increasing social tensions. Violence against women is a global health crisis, an egregious human rights violation, and a moral outrage that knows no geographic or cultural barriers.”
According to an American Bar Association’s study, nearly 25% of women and 7.6% of men were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or dating partner/acquaintance during their lifetimes. Black women are victimized at higher rates than persons of any other race. Black females experienced intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher than that of white females, and about 22 times the rate of women of other races.
Shootings in general are also up citywide, with 293 people hit by bullets this year, a 16.3% change from the total of 252 recorded by March 21 last year. Coming after a year in which New York saw the fewest number of homicides on record, the spike in crime rattled residents trying to go about their lives.
The sponsoring coalition included the New York State Conference NAACP, New York Theological Seminary’s Women’s Center and Merger Watch. Other supporters included the New York Police Department’s community affairs officers and clergy from many faiths in the tri-state region.
“The Interchurch Center is pleased to have the opportunity to join forces with New York Theological Seminary's Center for Women, the NAACP New York State Conference and other community interests, as we protest incidents of violence in our area, particularly acts of violence against women”, said Paula Mayo, Interchurch Center President/Executive Director.
The Interchurch Center was created 50 years ago to bring together and promote close cooperation between religious, educational and philanthropic organizations. Today, it continues to be the building of choice for 87 nationally known organizations committed to interfaith understanding.