[Sosfbay-discuss] East Palo Alto March begins at 10 am Saturday

[Carol Brouillet]

I plan to table at this event- if anyone would like to join me- 
please let me know!!!
Carol Brouillet 650-857-0927

Peace, unity march targets violence in EPA
Saturday event starts 10 a.m. at Home Depot parking lot

by <http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news//staff/mailto.php?e=editor>Becky Trout
Palo Alto Weekly Staff

In early January, film student and East Palo Alto resident Marina 
Latu, 29, realized she couldn't accept the nearly nonstop shootings 
that have shaken her hometown for the last month.

So she shared her concerns with other East Palo Altans and learned 
the violence was disturbing, frustrating and saddening others as well.

"Something had to be done," Latu said.

Working off a suggestion a young man offered at a vigil for Maikeli 
Iongi, the 16-year-old fatally shot in an encounter with police 
officers Dec. 22, Latu decided to organize a march and rally and form 
a new organization, the "East Palo Alto Peace and Unity Team."

This Saturday, the "Live in Peace" March and Rally will take place 
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at Clarke Avenue and Donohoe Street, 
near Home Depot, and proceeding to Jack Farrell Park on Fordham 
Street, where the rally with music, speakers and booths will continue 
until 2 p.m.

Latu said she and other organizers have been showered with support, 
offers of help and donations. Police Chief Ron Davis signed on, as 
did City Council members, and even Palo Alto leaders. The Palo Alto 
City Council moved a long-planned council retreat to earlier in the 
morning so members could attend the rally.

"The community is really pulling together," she said.

The goal is to reach youth, letting them know they have options and 
opportunities, alternatives to violence -- and to listen, Latu said.

"I think it's really important. We need to hear from our young people 
in the community. We just don't know what they're going through," Latu said.

Police have posited gang links to most of the shootings, which have 
climbed to 28 in the past month and have claimed five lives in 
addition to Iongi's.

The march and rally may not abolish the gang warfare, but it will 
tell the "other story" of East Palo Alto, said Faye McNair-Knox, 
executive director of One East Palo Alto, a non-profit organization 
dedicated to improving conditions for East Palo Alto residents.

A very small percentage of the population is responsible for the 
violence, McNair-Knox said.

The march and rally will show that "we're no longer going to just sit 
back and passively take this without expressing ourselves," she said.

The people engaged in the violence do have links to others in the 
community, McNair-Knox said. A strong showing of support just may 
prompt change.

"Maybe it will have an impact. We hope so," she said.

"I think the community wants to say, 'Not in our town. This has no 
place here. This is not who we are,'" said Leif Erickson, executive 
director with Youth Community Service, a nonprofit organization that 
works with youth in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.

Police Chief Ron Davis said he thinks the march will "have a huge effect."

It will build unity and dispel apathy, Davis said.

"It brings neighbors together to get to know each other and realize 
they have a common goal -- to live in a safe environment and raise 
their families," Davis said.

He said he also hopes the march will mobilize the community to help 
the police department quell the violence.

McNair-Knox said locals have held vigils or marches to combat 
previous waves of violence, but this effort is characterized by 
outreach to everyone. It is also unique because it is spearheaded by 
leaders of the Pacific Islander community, which has been 
particularly affected by the shootings.

The call for help reached across U.S. Highway 101, where Palo Alto's 
City Council expressed its support for the march at its Jan. 22 meeting.

"They're our neighbor going through some trouble, and I think it 
makes sense for us to be there and do whatever we can to support 
them," Councilman John Barton said this week.

Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell said she hopes the rally marks the 
beginning of a new partnership between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.

McNair-Knox said about 1,000 people are expected.

The Peace and Unity Team is asking for businesses or individuals to 
help sponsor the march. For sponsorship information, visit 
<http://www.epa.net/.>www.epa.net


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