Annual Rally and Peace March Unites Students from Across The City

Saint Sabina Church recently hosted their annual End of the School Year Rally and Peace March. The event was led by Father Micheal Pfleger who offered his platform to young people from all over Chicago and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to be able to speak out about the violence they have experienced.
Saint Sabina Church recently hosted their annual End of the School Year Rally and Peace March. The event was led by Father Micheal Pfleger who offered his platform to young people from all over Chicago and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to be able to speak out about the violence they have experienced.

Annual Rally and Peace March Unites Students from Across The City

By: Katherine Newman

Saint Sabina Church recently hosted their annual End of the School Year Rally and Peace March. The event was led by Father Micheal Pfleger who offered his platform to young people from all over Chicago and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to be able to speak out about the violence they have experienced.

“A lot of marches and events like this happen in Washington D.C. and in downtown Chicago, we like to have ours right in the middle of the neighborhood and I think it’s important we are not having to go someplace out of the community and we can do what we do here in the community,” said Pfleger, senior pastor at Saint Sabina Church, 1210 W 78th Place.

Other notable attendees included Chance the Rapper, Jennifer Hudson, Gabby Giffords, and Will I Am. The well known public figures voluntarily attended the Rally and Peace March to show their support for young people and to elevate their platform to the next level.

“This is a lot of young people in the crowd, it’s honestly moving my heart right now. I just want to say thank you to Father Pfleger for including me in this. We want safety from all forms of violence and we want to show that we are going to be loud when we see it,” said Chance the Rapper, Grammy award-winning rapper and Chicago native.

At the rally, young leaders from the north side, west side, and south side of Chicago along with student leaders from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a school in Parkland, FL where seventeen people were shot and killed in February, all had the opportunity to speak at the event.

“We wanted to continue to strengthen this diverse unified group of young people in Chicago and then also unite them with Parkland kids so that we can continue to let people know that this is not just a Chicago problem, this is an American problem and whether you are from Parkland and you’re afraid of getting shot in school or whether you’re a Chicagoan and you’re afraid of getting shot on the way to school, the common thread of it all is that young people are being killed,” said Pfleger.

The work of Father Pfleger is continues after the rally by inviting people to meet every Friday at 7 p.m. at the church to walk with him through various parts of the community.

“We want to be out there to let our elders and our families know that we are present and we are going to consistently keep an open mind in our community and look to see what we can do to help,” said Pfleger.

Additionally, Pfleger is calling for people to meet him on July 7 at 10 a.m. where 79th St. meets the Dan Ryan Expressway to shut down the major highway and call for peace in Chicago.

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