'From Confusion to Clarity'
Members of the community came together to become a part of the solution to end the senseless violence overtaking and killing youth locally.
About a dozen people attended the “Gainesville Umoja Conference: From Confusion to Clarity” on last Wednesday at the Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center (GTEC) located at 2153 Hawthorne Road.
Panelists discussed their solutions addressing the concerns of the latest violence going on in the community.
“I’m not a stranger to violence,” said Dr. K.A. Shakoor, co-organizer of the conference. “We talked about any kind of violence, not just gun violence.”
He talked about how violence keeps members of the community in a toxic cycle.
“In a domestic violence situation, the women face trauma and the men get a record,” Shakoor said. “That record puts a brand on him for a lifetime. Many men don’t want to sell drugs, but can’t get a job because of their record.”
A solution Shakoor mentioned was the art of mindfulness and meditation.
“If we learn a simple technique of relaxation, people can avoid resorting to internal violence or external violence,” Shakoor said.
He explains internal violence as alcoholism and suicide and external violence as homicide.
He also said getting rid of violent mentalities will prevent youth from being violent towards each other, and he encourages parents to spend more time with their children.
“The household is the microcosm and the community is the macrocosm,” Shakoor said. “With broken homes and parents working all of the time, there’s a lack of emotional presence.”
He hopes that mindfulness and meditation can be taught in all schools throughout Alachua County.
“I’ve seen it work over and over again,” Shakoor said.
Carly Dodd, founder of the Warrior Wellness Collective, was one of the panelists for the conference.
“He [Shakoor] does a great job getting stakeholders in the grassroots to get involved,” Dodd said. “I hope this conference encourages people to make sure they are apart of more events like this in the future.”
Panelist Kane Barr, a member of Shambala Gainesville and The Pride Center, said he wished more people attended the conference to engage in the meaningful conversation.
“Anytime there’s open dialogue, I support it regardless of how many people attend,” Barr said. “I’m happy to hear about the solution of the youth practicing meditation and mindfulness in schools. It’s good to have that activity in any grade school setting because it increases emotional intelligence.”
Another panelist was Juan Diaz, a civil engineer who talked about how violence hit close to home when three fights broke out at Gainesville High School where his daughter attends.
“There was a spark in conversation where people spoke to powerful entities in our city to help us to do something about the problem,” Diaz said.
Diaz suggests that he would like to see more funds for youth programs to keep them preoccupied and to have more input from churches and institutions.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 'From Confusion to Clarity'
