In response to the recent violent acts in Selma and Dallas County, ministers and community leaders held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The group stood in front of the historical Tabernacle Baptist Church and urged the community to come out Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. to the church for a Violence Awareness Prayer Mass Meeting.

Tabernacle head pastor, Otis D. Culliver, said the idea for a mass meeting came about after several meetings with other members of the clergy.

“This idea evolved out of some meetings that we’ve been having with pastors and ministers,” he said. “[We were] thinking about what we can do to address the issues of Selma in a meaningful way.”

Culliver believes it takes more than just talk to fix the problem. He said to get to the root, everyone must be all hands-on deck.

“We don’t want to be able to just say we did something, we want to do something that we believe is effective,” he said. “We just believe that the first step is acknowledging God through prayer.”

According to Culliver, raising awareness to the crime issue in the community is another thing that is needed to change the dynamic of the city. He said a lot of residents don’t see just how close to home these acts of violence are, and by bringing awareness to that fact it opens their eyes to the possibilities of what can happen.

“We are not exempt,” he said. “We do not have a safe haven that we can run to,” Culliver said. “When people begin to realize the proximity of that problem to them, it can cause them to respond in a more urgent way.”

Tabernacle Baptist Church was host to the first mass meeting held in Selma during the historic Voting Rights Movement. Culliver said that having the meeting in such a historic place lays the foundation for this new movement.

Ainka Jackson, director of Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation, said this is a collaborative effort made by people that love God, Selma and Dallas County.

“God gave multiple people visions, and we came together,” she said. “An Army of Mothers for Peace came together with some ministers and pastors who were already working together. We came together and said, ‘let’s do this prayer mass meeting for action.’’’

Dr. Avis Williams, superintendent of Selma City Schools, and Hattie Shelton, superintendent of Dallas County Schools will be present to speak on how violence can affect students. Mothers that have lost children to violence will also have a chance to speak during the meeting as well.

For more information, contact Pastor Otis Culliver at pastorculliver.tab@gmail.com.