Impact Teens to host peace walk Saturday
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on July 7, 2017 2:18 PM
File photo
Kheyonna Martin, secretary of Impact Teens Goldsboro, lights candles next to a photo of A'Tiya Maddox on the steps of the Cornerstone Commons stage in June.
Impact Teens Goldsboro will host a peace walk Saturday and is asking residents to pledge their commitment to help reduce violence in the city
The Impact Peace Walk will start at 6 p.m. at the Board of Elections on William in downtown Goldsboro.
The event, which is open to the general public, will start with a prayer for the community and continue with the walk that will end at Hollowell Street.
The ending location of the walk is significant, with the site being near 410 Hollowell St. where Desconte Bryant, an 18-year-old Goldsboro High student, was shot on May 28. Bryant, who was transported to Vidant Medical Center, died from the wounds one day later.
Participants will be asked to pledge their commitment to work together to build a better city, said Khalil Cobb, founder and chief executive officer of Impact Teens.
The pledge, a special tribute to Bryant and a song are planned at the Hollowell Street site.
Local officials, community leaders and area residents have been invited to attend. The event is also taking place to continue bringing awareness to gun violence in Goldsboro.
Since January, five homicides have taken place in Goldsboro, and the number is tracking closely to the number of slayings recorded between January and June 2016.
The upcoming peace walk is the second event recently organized by Impact Teens Goldsboro. The group held a citywide prayer night, which drew close to 100 people to the Cornerstone Commons, on June 7.
The prayer vigil was held to remember several teens who lost their lives to gun violence, including Donald Girtley Jr., an 18-year-old Goldsboro resident, who was shot and killed in Kinston on May 31. Girtley planned to join the military after graduating from Goldsboro High School.