Protesters Gather In A Prayer for Peace

Johneece Cobb (left) and Debra Butler are joined by Butler’s daughter to honor the memory of loved ones lost to gun violence. Cobb lost her 19-year old nephew, Edwin Cook, to a random shooting in February 2015 while Butler lost her son, Jeffrey, in a July 2011 drive by shooting.
Johneece Cobb (left) and Debra Butler are joined by Butler’s daughter to honor the memory of loved ones lost to gun violence. Cobb lost her 19-year old nephew, Edwin Cook, to a random shooting in February 2015 while Butler lost her son, Jeffrey, in a July 2011 drive by shooting.

Protestors Gather In A Prayer for Peace

By Craig G. May

On a brilliant, cloud-free, sun-kissed, Saturday, an estimated 4,600 community residents joined the friends and family of murder victims and laid down along every block of east 79th St. from Greenwood Ave. to the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 94) to honor the lives of neighbors and loved ones lost to gun violence, and to make a citywide plea for peace.

“Prayer On The 9,” the vision of John F. Hannah, Senior Pastor at New Life Covenant was as much a unity event as it was a protest against the staggering murder rate on Chicago’s South Side. “We had over 50 churches and block clubs to sign up and take a block,” said Hannah, who opened the event speaking to protesters gathered at 79th and Dobson Ave. before the protesters fanned out east to I-94.

Pastor Hannah told the group, “We’re saying ‘enough is enough’ and we are here today to cry for those whose blood has been shed.” And, indeed, tears were shed at the event by the mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings of those murdered on the streets surrounding the event.

Several of the victims’ relatives clutched photos of their departed loved ones and spoke passionately about what the experience of losing a young family member to gun violence has been like. Johneece Cobb was on hand representing her 19-year old nephew, Edwin Cook, who was gunned down on 66th and Oakley Ave. while on his way to school. Saturday’s protest marked the 16-month anniversary of his death. Cobb says Edwin’s murder remains unsolved. “He was the baby of the family,” Cobbs said. “There’s a hole in the soul of our entire family. Our lives have been changed dramatically.”

Standing with Cobb was Debra Butler whose son, Jeffrey Xavier Butler, Jr. was killed in the Englewood neighborhood on July 9, 2011 while walking a friend home. “Today means a whole lot. I hope we can get some justice out here. I hope we can stop the violence, stop the shooting; the loss of life. I fight every day. I cry every day. I’m fighting for my son and every kid out here.”

Ida Hall was standing on 79th between Ellis and Drexel in honor of her slain son, Deon, who was a football player at Butler College Prep and was murdered November 8, 2014. Hall lives on 79th and Drexel and says her son’s death has not been easy. “He has two brothers, sister and his dad and we’re still trembling every day.” Hall says she was present at the event because, “This killing needs to stop. This is just ridiculous. You hear about it every day—10, 12, 15 shootings and killings a day. It’s crazy and it needs to stop.

”After covering every corner of 79th Street along the route, the protesters, most of them clad in red shirts to symbolize the blood shed by gun violence victims, laid down in each intersection between Greenwood and the Ryan Expressway for an extended moment of silence. That was followed by several minutes of separate, but unified prayer as protesters stood and held hands along each block of the protest route.

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