'We matter, I matter': Martindale-Brightwood community marks Juneteenth with peace walk
Their cheers echoed throughout the neighborhood as they walked Indianapolis' Martindale-Brightwood streets.
“Black Lives Matter,”
“No justice, no peace.”
The chants reverberated Friday from an estimated 150 school-age kids from Edna Martin Christian Center Legacy Campus and KIPP Indy schools during a community peace walk in the north-side neighborhood.
The children, along with parents, teachers and neighborhood residents, could be seen lining Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue and walking with megaphones, posters and streamers to celebrate Juneteenth – which marks the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Bucket drums could be heard. A few motorists driving by honked their horns and waved. Many school-aged children carried posters colored with red, yellow, green and black markers.
It’s the community’s third annual peace walk, and it also aims to highlight the vibrancy of the neighborhood and the efforts of children bringing positive change in the community.
During Friday’s walk, children who volunteered to speak shared such thoughts one by one at three places along the mile-long walk that hold significant meaning to the neighborhood. At Kipp Indy Legacy High School, adjacent to the Edna Martin facility, 17-year-old Shariah Miller dedicated the walk to the next generation.
Along Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue, a few girls reiterated that Black lives matter and urged for school safety in light of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
In the shadow of a street sign marking the entrance to Martindale-Brightwood, several young children also shared a dark reality some of them face — gun violence. Each one described the fear they feel hearing gunshots and their instinct to drop to the floor when the shots ring out.
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"I hear gunshots at night that scare me," one girl said through the megaphone. "We matter. I matter."
It was this succession of stories shared by the children that struck Ashley Moore, who oversees the youth program at Edna Martin. She took the megaphone and shared a call to action to the crowd.
“I know that it’s not the ones that are standing out here right now,” Moore said. “But we need to help. We need to spread the word. We need to help keep these babies safe.”
Providing children a chance to share such perspectives is one of the main reasons Moore said she helped create the peace walk with others. Moore said the idea came after sharing with her students her experience attending the racial justice protests in downtown Indianapolis in 2020. Because she couldn’t take them downtown, the idea of a walk around their own neighborhoods blossomed.
“We want them to know your voice matters. What you have to say matters,” she said.
Miller, a rising senior at KIPP Legacy High School and youth advocate, said the walk also provides the children a chance to speak to a crowd.
“Today was not only about Juneteenth and Black independence. It’s also a march for the acknowledgement of young, Black voices.” she said. “I think that’s a very important thing.”
Robyn Russell, a parent of a rising KIPP Indy senior, also noted the turnout for Friday’s walk speaks to the tight-knit nature of the school and neighborhood.
“School is out. It’s summer time. They’re still coming to school,” Russell said. “They have found a safe place.”
As Russell prepared to tend to one of the many information booths available at Edna Martin after the walk, she described the joy she feels in working in the neighborhood.
“It’s such a blessing and a joy to be able to serve this community with so many wonderful people,” she said.
Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Juneteenth: Martindale-Brightwood community celebrates with peace walk
