Flint, MI—All summer long, Flint residents have suffered through a particularly ruthless wave of gun violence. Though city officials have taken steps to address these issues, some residents feel more needs to be done.
Residents have organized events like ceasefires, outreach initiatives, and even picnics throughout the city in an attempt to combat the 46.43% increase in murders compared to last year.
Tyonna McIntyre is the latest Flintstone to bring the fight to gun violence. Operating under the mantra of “be the change you want to see,” McIntyre decided to organize what she is calling a Stop the Violence rally after witnessing the uptick in crime.
“I feel that something has to be done. It has to be known that there is someone that’s willing to do that one thing to take back Flint and to try and change the way we look at gun violence here,” McIntyre said.
The rally will take place on Friday, September 3 at the peace garden on the corner of Martin Luther King Avenue and McClellan Street. The rally will go from 6-8 p.m. followed by a candlelight vigil from 8-9 p.m. It is free and open to the public
As someone with grandchildren and great-grandchildren growing up in Flint, McIntyre has seen firsthand how easy it can be for a child to fall into the wrong crowd. Being able to educate children on how to avoid compromising situations, she says, is the solution to mitigating gun violence.
“I just want to help create a world where my grandsons or great-grandsons will have a chance at life and won’t become a victim or a statistic,” McIntyre said.
A fan of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who once said “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way,” McIntyre decided this rally would be her “small thing.”
The event will include music, vendors, and access to mental health resources.
McIntyre has also invited Michigan State Police, members of Crime Stoppers and Mayor Sheldon Neely to be a part of the conversation. On top of this, featured speakers including Queen B Rejoice, a Flint mother whose daughter was killed in a shooting at Club What’s Next will be present to share their experiences with gun violence.
All these things are not making people change their violent ways. Something else needs to be done, like change people from the inside out! Change begins on the inside first. Flint has been violence prone for too many decades and it seems to get worse more than better. More people are leaving for good due to the crime alone. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will really change people people from the inside out and needs to be preached on the streets because people are not going to Church no more. Flint will only change when it’s people finally see The Light and change from the inside out. A 3 year old boy just got shot in the head on the gutsy northside of Flint in another stupid drive by shooting. This craziness has to end and now!! Put Jesus on the streets more often and we will see a better change here. Nothing else is working. Jesus Christ is still the ANSWER for all the world!
Amen !!! Bob Cummings I agree , growing up and living in flint presently ; what I see is a lack of respect … period …too many children and grandchildren are not being “raised” and the “ village” raising a child concept seems to be disappearing out of fear and the fact that children are raising children and think that makes them grown … JESUS CHRIST IS THE ANSWER 🙏🏽🙏🏽… once taught that HE died for US , maybe these thugs will realize that there are CONSEQUENCES to your actions and maybe will think before just randomly/ non randomly killing someone … we have plenty of churches but too many “ false prophets “… hopefully more teaching and police-ing will help…. We also need better government/ city officials…how can we become a city United when city officials are fighting as the example??? Smh … We’ve tried to rehab some of the homes but there are too many eyesores and hard to keep up!!! Where is our leaderships backbone for us not taking care of abandoned property and not having consequences ie: no grass cut, etc… 🙏🏽🙏🏽 #sticktogether#goodoverevil