
Parkway Village organizations join forces for ‘Stop the Violence’ youth event
by: Quametra Wilborn
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As crime continues to plague neighborhoods across the city of Memphis, one Parkway Village business owner says he’s not giving up on his community.
The Superior Shop on South Perkins has been a shopping center staple for more than 10 years.
The owner, T. Ginem, said his high-end boutique is his second home. That’s why just outside his doors, he hosted a ‘Stop the Violence’ event for the youth on Saturday.
“I can benefit the next person as much as they can benefit from me,” Ginem said. “So, the idea is why not bring everything together and give back as much as we can? At the end of the day, the customers are our neighbors.”
This event comes as crime continues to rise across the city, especially among the youth.
“There’s a lot of violence going on right in the streets,” Ginem said. “So, the only thing to do right now is just try to bring everyone together.”
However, Ginem wasn’t alone in his efforts to achieve unity in his community.
He partnered with Ride of Tears, an organization whose goal is to raise awareness about gun violence among children.
“When you see Ride of Tears, it’s because a baby passed away and stuff like that,” Ride of Tears founder Mary Trice said. “So, we wanted to this time do something positive where it’s not (about) death, it’s (about) being alive. Being happy to be alive.”
Multiple businesses in the shopping center and other organizations joined in on the mission.
“The mission is to try to bring the kids together of the city of Memphis to stop so many crimes,” Laticia Lewis with Women on a Mission said.
“It’s about partnering with these businesses in the community, getting these grassroots non-profit organizations in the city, and creating preventative measures,” Positive Reaction CEO Drew McCraven said.
Trice said Saturday’s example of community engagement is needed if people want to see a decline in the crime rate.
“When you get tired and enough is enough, you want to see your community do better,” Trice said. “You want better for your community, better for the youth, better for the parents, better for everybody, but it can’t get better if we’re constantly killing and hurting one another. So, when you bring everybody together, it’s more love.”