A group of activists in Boston is marching in an effort to curb violence.
Aiming to diffuse disputes, 10,000 Fearless Peacemakers, a group of Black men, has been greeting people in the community with handshakes and hugs.
"Sometimes, that's all it takes, is someone that can intervene and really try to dial down the conflict," said Minister Randy Muhammad. "I tell everyone that every conflict doesn't have to end with someone being shot, stabbed or killed."
The killing of grandmother Eleanor Maloney, who was shot while sitting on her porch in Mattapan in 2019, inspired the group to start marching.
Since then, it has been pushing to curb violence, even mediating domestic disputes.
"We just happened to get there at the perfect time and separated them," Daniel Laurent recalled of one incident. "We were able to change the energy a little."
The men are embraced in the community because they're from the community — not looking to replace police, but provide an alternative.
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"We're not police, so we're not trying to solve a crime, we're trying to prevent a murder. We're trying to prevent more violence in the community," Muhammad said. "Police got their job to do, salute to the police. And we have our job to do."
The group has been looking to change the narrative, block by block.
"Black men are being seen as gangsters, as drug dealers, as thugs, and so we saying, that's not our story -- that's not all of our story. That may be a fraction of it, but that's not the majority of it," Muhammad said. "So we need Black men to really stand up and show the other side."
The group's goal is to get 10,000 Black men to join it for an hour of power to march in the neighborhoods where they're needed most.
If you need conflict resolution or mediation, you can call the group at 1-833-4NO-SMOKE, or 1-833-466-7665.
