March for Peace a celebration

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This article was published 11/09/2017 (3106 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What started out as a response to violence has grown into an annual  community celebration, Jamil Mahmood says.

Mahmood is the executive director for the Spence Neighbourhood Association (615 Ellice Ave.), one of many taking part in this year’s March for Peace. The march sees dozens if not hundreds of community residents walking through the West End and downtown before meeting up for barbecue.

This year’s march takes place Wed., Sept. 20 starting in two locations at 5:45 p.m.: Valour Community Club, Orioles site (448 Burnell St.) and Broadway at Sherbrook Street.

“It started out as a kind of joint community effort, after some violence in the neighbourhood, two shootings back to back,” Mahmood said. “Then the police came out with a strong police presence and it was scary for people, we put together agencies and just wanted to do something to bring the community together and show people we were going to stand up for our community.

“It started out as a ‘stop the violence’ march but after a couple of years it morphed into the march for peach, which is more proactive and less reactionary.”

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Mahmood says the event will be fairly similar to years past, except that this year’s end point is the Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre (430 Langside St.). Participants from the two starting points will eventually meet up, march together and stop at the MERC, where there will be free food, entertainment and community resources, including information about the SNA’s safety charter.

“I think it’s really positive,” Mahmood said of the march. “It’s a way for communities to say we’re all together, we want to protect our neighbourhoods and keep it safe and the best way is to know each other, be outside, be aware and celebrate our community.”

Mahmood added that there’s a sense of empowerment in walking outside in the streets in the evening when the West End is often perceived as being a dangerous place.

“The community isn’t as unsafe as people make it out to be,” he said.

SNA rolled out their safety charter within the last year, and participants will have a chance to learn more at the march.

“It’s on how to feel safe, their role in keeping their neighbourhood safe,” Mahmood said. “The key is that it highlights that everyone has a role to play — individuals, agencies and businesses.”

For more information, visit spenceneighbourhood.org