‘Peace in the Streets’: Lowertown youth, community leaders come together to mourn homicide victims, work towards change

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A yr out from the violent slayings of two younger males in Lowertown, neighborhood members got here collectively Saturday in remembrance and in assist of a objective of constructing safer streets than those the victims walked.

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A crowd gathered beside the Rideau Avenue Loblaws within the afternoon solar, with some younger individuals nonetheless sporting gear from the basketball event that was the opposite a part of Saturday’s inaugural “Peace within the Streets” occasion.

They have been ready for the revealing of a Black Lives Matter mural created by Lowertown youth and artist DRPN Soul, in addition to speeches from members of the family of Loris Tyson Ndongozi and Creflo Tansia, shot and killed final July and August, respectively, at ages 20 and 18.

“He was a younger man dreaming of freedom, and he simply needed to seek out his place,” mentioned Victory Tansia, of the youthful brother he additionally described as bold, beneficiant and “a supply of inspiration for anybody who had an opportunity to satisfy him.”

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Victory, who works as an animator and graphic design marketing consultant, together with work for Netflix, challenged a perception he noticed amongst his neighborhood’s youth.

“I feel that we predict violence, dominance and intimidation are the best way to manhood,” he advised the assembled crowd. “The sweetness in sports activities is which you can show dominance over one other workforce. You’ll be able to struggle with all of your would possibly. You’ll be able to run into many altercation(s). However nonetheless, on the finish of the sport, you’re going to shake the hand of your opponent with respect. That’s a wholesome manner that we are able to regulate our destructive feelings as younger males, as human beings.

“My hope for the long run is that younger males like my brother don’t confuse the place their values lie in society. They are often greater than a statistic. They are often extra (than) the notion and destructive expectations of others. They are often extra.”

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A 17-year-old youth was charged with first-degree homicide in Tansia’s dying and turned himself into police final August.

Jooris Ndongozi, whose son’s accused killer, a 26-year-old, stays at giant, mentioned he needed to share a message of affection and imaginative and prescient for preventing crime at Saturday’s occasion, organized by the Lowertown Group Useful resource Centre, Prezdential Basketball and Tyson’s Dream (the latter, a violence prevention initiative launched by Ndongozi.)

In terms of combatting crime involving youth, “We are able to do one thing if there’s a good cooperation between police, faculty, neighborhood, and guardian(s),” mentioned Ndongozi. He confused as properly the significance of dialogue between fathers and their sons — one thing Tyson’s Dream is working to assist.

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Prezdential Basketball founder and former professional participant Manock Lual mentioned it was his hope that youth got here away from “Peace within the Streets” motivated to take motion in their very own lives. 

“We took motion to advertise a message that is essential proper now in our metropolis. There’s a whole lot of crime taking place, there’s a whole lot of shootings taking place. There was a homicide final evening in Lowertown,” mentioned Lual, referencing the Clarence Avenue capturing presently underneath investigation by the Ottawa Police murder unit.

“So hopefully these youth are going into their communities after (immediately), taking that motion. And it’s not essentially making change, however influencing the change, proper. ‘Hey, you don’t have to go down there immediately, , include us.’ … That would save a life.”