I'm not a fan of Hallmark holidays. Contrived days of celebration so that corporations can make more money is not at all up my alley.
On the other hand, an action to support a profoundly meaningful organization which was started by a mother who lost her son to violence is exactly the way I would suggest celebrating motherhood.
Hence, I am walking, as an ally, with the Occupy Boston People of Color Working Group (PoC WG) in the Louis D Brown Peace Institute's Mother's Day March for Peace.
I am writing here to share what this organization is about, how it came to be, and to ask people to support it by donating for our team's participation. It's late notice, but, I figured, "what the heck?"
More info after the Fleur de Kos....
About the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
LDPI serves 98% of the families affected by these violent murders (in Boston), including extended family members and close friends. Using best practices, we provide these families and close friends with grief support and practical information in their time of crisis.
Through our fully integrated curriculum and training, we prepare families and young people to deal with trauma and grief, build non-violence and conflict-resolution skills and commit to restorative justice and sustainable peace in our communities. Our curriculum includes comprehensive crisis response training for frontline providers in the community.
Tina Cherie's son, Louis D. Brown, was killed in December of 1993. He was not a gang member. He was not a child "at risk." He was from a loving family and was doing well in school. In fact, he was walking down the street at about 3:15 in the afternoon with a group of kids from Teens Against Gang Violence.
Yeah.
He just got caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout that burst open at the wrong time in the wrong place.
Louis D. Brown's death shook the community. In Boston, the early 90s was a time of maximum gang violence here. Even as children were being shot and stabbed, there was a lot of general feeling that only "bad" kids were getting hurt. The death of Louis D. Brown shattered that misperception.
It shattered his mother's heart, too. As a mother, this is something I cannot imagine enduring. But, his mother, she didn't just endure. She grieved in a very deep and profound way. She allowed this experience to open her eyes to what was happening in her community and how it affected everyone. Moreover, she opened her soul to ask more deeply what her calling in life was. And she opened her heart to have the compassion to not just cry out for anti-violence, but to reach out and teach peace.
From this, the Peace Institute in her son's name was born. The work they do is as about as real as it gets. They help people process the most harsh grief you can experience. Then they do more; they teach people how to practice peace; how to teach peace; how to transform a culture which says, "for you to win, somebody else has to lose" into a culture of "we're all in this together."
You can never hear enough superlatives about the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.
I don't know why I've waited this long to march with them. Perhaps because I'm white and it seems like an intimate experience for the communities of color. But, this year, I'm marching. Four miles on my neuropathic feet.
I'm marching because I shifted the focus of my Occupy Boston participation a couple of months ago. I've become involved in the anti-oppression and decolonization work. As far as I can see, this is the only work which will transform our society into something just and sustainable. Without ending oppression, in its many forms, there can never be justice. Without justice for all, there can never be peace. Without peace, there can never be sustainability.
I'm a member of the People of Color Working Group's Allies. As a member of that, I'm now on a task force to build relationships between Occupy Boston and the communities of color here. The PoC and their Allies just started this task force and marching in the Mother's Day March for Peace was a compelling opportunity for all of us.
Since we got involved late - better than never! - our fundraising goals are modest. We hope to raise $250. We'd be ecstatic if we raised $1000.
For me, it's an honor. I've never been comfortable with this whole Mother's Day business. My daughter loves me every day of the year. She is a gift and I don't need her to buy me a present or be told when to tell I'm a good mom. All the awkwardness of having this day is dissipated for me, as I go to march in celebration of the amazing courage, inspiration and peace-force of mother's who have found their way after losing their children to violence.
Will you support them, too? You can donate here.
With great appreciation, Una.