NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sunday kicked off the start of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, and anti-gun violence groups in Nashville marked the day with an event titled 'No Longer a Victim.'
Organizers of the event said they want everyone to come out and speak up against gun violence and for more gun control because so many people are victims in one way or another and it is time to do something about it.
The event, No Longer a Victim, was held at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church.
Clemmie Greenlee, the CEO of Mothers Over Murder, started the group Nashville Peacemakers after losing her son to gun violence back in 2003.
"We're at 20 years now and I'm still here talking about gun violence. That's scary and it don't make sense," she said.
Greenlee said it's heartbreaking to know the tragedies don't end.
"One pain is my pain, The Covenant pain, the Waffle House pain, and the other mass shooting pain. One pain is the police shooting pain. I have two mothers in my group that they son was murdered by the police. They still cry with me. They still in pain. They still lose jobs, they still can't get out of bed," Greenlee said.
The block party was sponsored by Voices of Black Mothers United a group based in Washington D.C.
Greenlee said people of color experience gun violence far too often, but their stories rarely get national attention and communities impacted rarely get the resources they need on a local level.
The event feature speakers, many of them mothers, who have lost loved ones.
It also featured students like Emma Marlowe with the Tennessee Student Solidarity Network, who have been advocates for gun control to end mass shootings in schools like what happened at The Covenant School.
Greenlee said she wants people to realize they are all fighting the same fight.
"Everybody needs to come and stand together on all gun shootings," said Greenlee. "Whether it's by the police, mass shootings, or one on one. It's gun violence. It ain't about who's pulling the trigger right now. It ain't about the mental illness to me right now. It's about the gun laws need to change."
"We have the power the thousands and thousands of us to put social pressure to actually make the changes that we want to see," said Marlowe. "And we want to show them that they have the power to do that respectively for their own causes as well. And the idea is you can get more manpower behind a certain event by creating a bigger network and making everyone aware of these issues going on."
The Office of Victims of Crime leads the National Crime Victims Week campaign and has resources on its website for victims of all crimes.
If you would like to help support the Mothers Over Murder (M.O.M.) program you can visit their website HERE.
