After two teenagers were killed and eight other people were wounded in two separate shootings in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood on July 21, St. Agatha Parish cohosted a rally and peace march with local community and faith leaders on July 23.

The march started at the site of the first mass shooting at 13th Street and South Christiana Avenue and proceeded to the site of the second mass shooting, which occurred minutes after the first, at West Douglas Boulevard and South Ridgeway Avenue. St. Agatha is located nearby at 3147 W. Douglas Blvd.

“We’re here today to respond to the two shooting incidents where 10 young men were shot in two separate incidents and we’re here really to raise up the community to say, ‘We’re here as community organizations in partnership with the police. We’re all about peace,’” said Father Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Agatha. “We’re not here to condemn anybody. We’re here simply to say, ‘Yes, we want you to put down the guns, but we also want to offer you alternatives.’”

St. Agatha parishioners and staff distributed information about resources the parish offers before the rally began. The parish promoted nearly a dozen programs that youth and young adults can take part in that offer an alternative to gangs.

Dowling said while the community and the parish is against guns and drug trafficking, they want the men and women involved in the violence to willingly choose an alternative.

“We’re here to say, ‘We’re with you and we understand. Everybody’s in pain. Everybody’s hurting and we want to respond to that. We need you just as much as you need us,’” Dowling said.

Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown attended the rally and march along with the department’s entire command staff as a show of support for the people of North Lawndale.

In remarks at the rally, Brown began by quoting the African proverb, “When the young people of a village don’t feel the warmth of a hug, they burn the village for warmth.”

“Being here is important. Showing we care is important, especially for our young people here,” he said.

Brown said adults must decide to be an example to young people and those who gathered that evening showed that they all care. Bringing the Chicago Police Department’s entire command staff to the event also shows the department cares about the people of North Lawndale, he said.

Derek Brown, restorative justice coordinator at St. Agatha, also addressed rally and march participants.

With Dowling’s support, 11 years ago Brown started Boxing Out Negativity, a youth outreach program that serves as an alternative to gangs.

During the rally, Derek Brown said he “represents a darker side.”

“Because I came from a dark side. I first went to jail at the age of 13. Went to the penitentiary at 17 and all type of hell happened in my life, but God put me in a place to connect with our local law enforcement and they gave somebody like me a voice,” Derek Brown said.

He said it takes more than marches to end the violence. When he was active on the streets of North Lawndale, he and his friends saw the marches as an attack on them. What he needed at that time, and what the people perpetuating the violence now still need, are resources to give them better opportunities.

One such resource is access to a quality education, he said. 

“Baby Derek Brown needed a decent education. Because I’m going to tell you something, Derek Brown couldn’t read until he went to the penitentiary,” he said.

St. Agatha and North Lawndale received national attention that week when U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland visited St. Agatha July 22, the day after the mass shootings. Garland was in Chicago to announce the formation of strike forces targeting gun traffickers in cities including Chicago.

News media reported a police chase took place outside the church just hours before the attorney general’s visit.

During his visit to St. Agatha, Garland met with Sen. Dick Durbin and members of READI, a community group that works with young men at the highest risk of experiencing violence.

READI meets regularly at the church and on July 21, members painted a mural on one of the church’s walls to celebrate its mission and honor members killed by gun violence.

A youth injured in one of the mass shootings attended the mural painting, according to news reports.