Group marches through Hill District to encourage freedom from violence

PITTSBURGH — A group of men, women and children marched through Pittsburgh’s Hill District Saturday morning to peacefully push back against violence.

Among those who took part in the Freedom From Violence March were members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first Greek-letter fraternity established for African-American men. %

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“We’re sick and tired of the gun violence,” John Ayers, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, said. “Every day kids are shooting each other down, and so we’re just fed up with it and, you know, we just want to let the kids know that this is how we feel about it and we’re opening up our voice and we’re saying ‘stop.’”

The march was followed by a resource fair at the Hill House.

“We want to encourage the kids that they need to get their education, because their education is much more powerful than toting around an AK-47,” Ayers said.

Cox Media Group