On Saturday, Selma City Councilwoman Jannie Thomas hosted her Third Annual Stop the Violence Assembly at Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist Church, uniting a wide array of city leaders, public safety officials and others.

“It was a dynamic event,” Thomas said. “The children and the adults all got something out of it.”

Among those who spoke at the event were Selma City Council President Corey Bowie, Federal Agent Dwight Brown of the Selma Alabama Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, Dallas County Circuit Court Judge Collins Pettaway, Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, Selma Police Department (SPD) Interim Chief Robert Greene, Dallas County Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn and others.

Further, Thomas noted that she had wide support from the council, with Selma City Council members Miah Jackson, Susan Youngblood and Angela Benjamin all turning out for the event.

“It’s really about the community getting involved,” Thomas said. “They told the people exactly what they need to do.”

For Thomas, one of the most powerful speakers of the day was R.B. Hudson Middle School Principal Cicely Curtis, who talked about the importance of stemming violence and bullying in the city’s young people.

“It shows leadership,” Thomas said of the presence of so many local leaders. “We had all of the key people that deal with these issues on a daily basis.”

One face absent from the event was Selma Mayor Darrio Melton, who Thomas said took to the web Friday night to blast her for spending discretionary money on the event.

For her part, Thomas noted that the mayor was recently given permission by the council to spend more than $3,000 on a laptop – Thomas, for Saturday’s event, spent discretionary money on hot wings and T-shirts, with Domino’s Pizza donating 10 pies for the event and Pepsi donating sodas and waters.

“These are things we do to keep our community up,” Thomas said. “And you want to blast a council member for doing something for the city? He has never been involved with anything we’ve done.”

But former Selma Mayor George Evans, who is a resident in Thomas’ ward, was on hand for the event.

Perhaps the most somber and symbolic portion of the program was during a pinning ceremony where leaders recognized people who have lost family members and loved ones due to violence in the Queen City.

The following people were recognized for the loss they suffered at the hands of violent criminals: Deloise Smith, whose daughter, Taffenie Berry, was murdered on Marie Foster Street a couple of years ago; Cassie Richardson, whose son Tarius Richardson was shot 15 times in Birmingham; Pinkie Platt, whose brother, Ernest Howell, was murdered on Duke Street several years ago; Velma Tolbert, who has lost five members of her family – Brandon Hatcher, Prince Tolbert, Morris Hatcher, Peter Hatcher and Ladarius Washington – to gun violence in Selma; Youngblood and Benjamin were also recognized, for the losses of Heather Newman and Wesley Bell, as was Thomas for the loss of Charlie Sanders, who was killed two years ago on Tremont Street.

“It’s important to show that we’re still trying to end gun violence,” Thomas said. “We need to let these citizens know we’re still pushing. We don’t want their tragedies to turn into cold cases. These people need help, they want to see these cases solved.”