Silence the Violence Day
The Silence the Violence campaign launched in May 2006 with our first Silence the Violence Day. What started out as a vigil hosted by Ella Baker Center grew into an Bay-Area-wide event with vigils all over around the Bay, hosted by both individuals and allied organizations. We organized Silence the Violence Days in 2007 and in 2008, which were the even more successful, with thousands of people raising a collective call for peace.
The idea took off because it was simple and powerful: we have the power to create peace in our communities and neighborhoods. We stood together to remember those that we've lost to violence and to commit ourselves to working for solutions.
From this beginning, Silence the Violence grew into one of the most cogent, powerful and innovative voices for peace in the country. We hosted a huge variety of events, activities and trainings in the three years of the campaign.
Turf Unity
Silence the Violence teamed up with Cov Records to create the Turf Unity Music Project. For one weekend, we transformed the Ella Baker Center offices into a music studio. Young people from Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond worked together to write, record, and produce a complete album -- all with a message of peace and unity.
Young people at Cov Records then mastered and compiled the music into a CD, which led sales for a locally produced album. San Francisco Bay Guardian awarded Turf Unity a Best of the Bay 2007 for Best Turf Unity. The 2008 Turf Unity album was also well-received, and the 2009 Turf Unity album will be released later this year.
Silence the Violence A's Game
For two years (and counting), Silence the Violence teamed up with the Oakland A's to host special Silence the Violence A's games. The 2007 game featured Oakland recording artist Mistah FAB and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums with PSAs on the Diamond Vision screens, a moment of silence before the game, and the anthem performed by Chantele, a representative of our friends at Youth UpRising. Thanks to generous donations from Dreyer's Ice Cream and the Port of Oakland, we were able to give tickets to more than 1400 young people and their families.
The 2008 Silence the Violence A's Game started with a job and resource fair that was attended by hundreds of local young people. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Oakland music legend Too Short attended the fair and held a press conference to call for solutions to violence. And A's mascot Stomper joined us at the BBQ.
Peace In Oakland
In September 2008, Silence the Violence launched a billboard campaign to ask for community solutions to violence. Supported by Clear Channel Outdoor, we were able to blanket Oakland with 24 billboards which asked "How will YOU silence the violence." The billboards were supported by a Peace in Oakland website for people to post their thoughts and ideas.
We received hundreds of great responses, and we're using the ideas to create and shape the Heal the Streets project.
Other Events and Activities
Of course, Silence the Violence was much more than just a host of amazing large-scale events. We also answered the call for community action on violence by:
- Hosting, with our partners, an annual Evening of Remembrance late in the year to remember those we've lost to violence
- In early 2008, we held an Emergency Vigil in response to a dramatic series of homicides
- We helped host the GRIND & GLORY film premiere, a documentary following the lives of some of the Silence the Violence performers.
- We developed a Block Ambassadors program to spread a message of peace on our streets.
- We helped host a Mother's Day 'Mother's Morning/Mourning' march for peace at Lake Merritt in the heart of Oakland.
- We brought together Bay Area stars Goapele, Mistah FAB, Mac Mall, B-Legit and Clyde Carson to create a single, Make It Thru.
The Silence the Violence campaign also played a critical role in creating cross-sector partnerships to tackle violence. Our partners included:
