Bull City United Brings Inaugural Week of Peace
DURHAM, NC – The inaugural Durham Week of Peace will be held by Bull City United on January 1-7 in eight neighborhoods in Durham County, with candlelight vigils and ceremonies. These neighborhoods represent the locations where gun violence is most prevalent. Pictured left, local activist Dee J Kraze reads the names of the individuals killed by gun violence in Durham during 2016. — at Rochelle Manor Apartments.
| Date | Neighborhood | Location | Time |
| January 1 | Bentwood/Rochelle | 2819 Rochelle Street | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 2 | Turnkey | 416 Walton Street | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 3 | Oxford Manor Housing Community | 3633 Keystone Place | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 4 | Liberty Street Housing Community | Liberty Housing Community Center (500 Block of East Main Street) | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 5 | East Side | 1203 Holloway Street (Parking Lot) | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 6 | Southside | 100 Block of Scout Drive | 6-7 p.m. |
| January 7 | Kerrwood/Club Blvd. | 2716 Hinson Drive | 2-3 p.m. |
| January 7 | McDougald Terrace Housing Community | 1400 Block of Wabash Street | 4-6 p.m. |
“Every homicide is a loss of life to family, a loss to our community, a loss of safety, and a loss of freedom for the individual who pulls the trigger,” said Dorel Clayton, supervisor, Bull City United. “We want to dedicate this week to the lives lost in 2016 and encourage peace in 2017. We need peace to maintain safe neighborhoods for our families and our future.”
According to Durham County Sherriff Captain Raheem Aleem, 462 young black and Latino men have been shot since 2015. Week of Peace attendees will receive keychains and other symbols to create awareness about the violence epidemic in Durham County and also encourage nonviolence. Residents will be asked to pledge to live a violence-free life in 2017.
Convellus Parker, an outreach worker with Bull City United who grew up on the east side of Durham, shared his commitment to reducing violence in Durham. “If we don’t help each other change, who will? The young people who are involved in the violence in these communities relate to those of us who have also lived that life, survived it, and are working to change it.”
For more information or if your business or organization would like to participate in the Week of Peace, contact Michelle Young at 919.560.7752 or email myoung@dconc.gov. Visit the Bull City United Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Bull-City-United-203326070125957 or Twitter @BullCityUnited for updates.
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About Bull City United
Bull City United is a violence prevention initiative, housed in the Durham County Department of Public Health, funded by Durham County. This initiative uses the Cure Violence evidence-based model with a team of highly influential community members who interrupt violence in Durham County based on their relationships with individuals committing most of the violence in Durham. The Cure Violence model recognizes violence as a public health issue. The model insists that violence in preventable, can be stopped, and that everyone has a right to be free from violence. When completely implemented, the Cure Violence model has radically reduced violent crimes in some of the most violent cities in this country and abroad. Visit the Bull City United Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Bull-City-United-203326070125957 or follow on Twitter @BullCityUnited for updates.