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The 25th annual Stop the Violence Rally and March is shaping up to attract some big names for the event, which commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and promotes an end to violence in the community.

The event, which is sponsored by the Safe Haven Center, is featuring Silky Slim Reed, a rapper, producer, filmmaker, etc. from New Orleans who also has an organization called Stop The Killing, Inc. Miss Tanehsa Purifoy, an influencer and content producer from Dallas County, is also scheduled to make an appearance.

Event organizer, the Rev. Michael Bowen, said he is hoping the celebrities will help attract a large crowd to downtown to raise awareness about stopping the violence.

“What we need is everyone to come together across all backgrounds and stop the violence that’s happening in our community,” Bowen said. “You know, we want to bring folks into the church-house for us to meet them, but we need to go out into the community and meet them where they are. That’s the only way we are going to make a difference. That’s what we are doing with this rally and march to try and meet people where they are.”

About Silky Slim

According to his website, Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed, grew up between Beauregard Town and the North gates of LSU, known for generations as The SouthSide in Baton Rouge. By the age of 12, Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed’s life had already taken a downward turn as he begins the life of doing crime, dealing drugs and violent acts. Convinced that the street life was the only way out of the ghetto, “Silky Slim” joined the Rolling 30’s Cripps gang and spent the next 22 years in and out of prisons from California to Louisiana.

It wasn’t until 2003 that his life began to turn around. While driving a Tahoe, “Silky Slim” and friends where driving from California to Louisiana when his SUV struck another vehicle and flipped several times. The crash killed everyone except the only person wearing a seat belt, “Silky Slim”. “Silky Slim” had to push one of his dead friends off his chest in order to escape the wreck. When he got out of the wreckage, as soon as his feet hit the ground, he heard God speak, “I just brought you out of that, now what are going to do for me.”

Inspired to make a difference, he co-founded Stop The Killing, Inc., a Baton Rouge based, 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization established to stop the violence and senseless killing in our communities. He is a youth counselor and consultant to youth court working closely with troubled teens and young offenders, teaching them how to solve their problems without resorting to violence. He is the publisher of STOPTHEKILLING newsletter and co-author of, STOP THE KILLING: Effective Communication Techniques To Avoid Violence and Senseless Killing (Stop The Killing 2007). Each year, Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed coordinates the Stop The Killing Rally, a local event that calls for community residents to stop the violence. “Silky Slim’s” message keeps spreading throughout depressed neighborhoods through THE LIFE or DEATH vehicle. A converted ambulance, THE LIFE or DEATH mobile teaches the youth to value life. It’s equipped with the latest monitors and games that teach anti-violence techniques and methods. In addition, he leads several anti-violence programs in area public schools.

Come together

Kalim Muhammad, who is helping organize the event, said the event is for everyone to come together and wants to see a safer Selma. He is also making a plea to local leaders to also attend the event.

“We would like to invite all of our city leaders, county leaders and others in government,” Muhammad said. “We also would like to see all of the churches come out as well and be a part of this.”

The event begins at noon with a march from Brown Chapel Church to the Songs of Selma park at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a site which King himself marched across nearly 60 years ago as a part of the Bloody Sunday and Turnaround Tuesday marches that culminated at the Alabama State Capitol.

The rally will be held at the Songs of Selma Park and continue until 2 p.m.

“We also want to commemorate Dr. King and recognize everything he did for the cause of freedom,” Bowen said. “And I think one of the best ways to do that is to stop the violence.”

For more information about the event, please contact Bowen at 334-505-1723.