School-age children and their families packed the inside of the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center Saturday for the 26th annual Stop the Violence Back-to-School Rally in Gainesville.
The event, organized by People Against Violence Enterprises (PAVE), not only allowed families and students an opportunity to garner information from various community resources, but it also gave them a chance to hear messages on violence prevention in schools, homes and the community.
“We endeavor to make an impact in our community by lowering the number of gun violence [incidents], and we’ve been doing that,” Karl Anderson, president and founder of PAVE, said in an interview with Mainstreet. “But we can’t let up. One dead body is too much.”
The theme for this year’s rally was “We Won’t Stop Until the Violence Stops.”
“We want to drive home that it’s not a good time to stop,” Anderson said of the theme’s purpose. “We need to continue to mentor, continue to do what we’ve been doing…and we’ll see our city and county continue to really do great.”
Saturday marked the first time the rally was held at the MLK Center in 25 years.
“We were here [for] our first two years – 2000 and 2001,” Anderson said. “I believe it’s divine. It was a God thing for us to come back here on this side of town.”
Santa Fe College has served as the event host for the last several years; however, Anderson said the college was having its floors redone, which was the reason behind the move to the MLK Center.
In addition to community resources, Saturday’s rally featured music and dance performances from local students and visiting artists. Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) personnel were also on-hand to offer back-to-school information ranging from busing, free school meals, calendars and more.
The rally’s keynote speaker was WWE commentator and University of Florida graduate Byron Saxton. Saxton, who entered the stage with three backpacks strapped to his body, shared with the students the importance of having the item.
“This backpack can change your life because when you put this backpack on, you go to school, you bring your assignments with you, you work hard,” he said. “That means you have [a] good work ethic. And when you have a good work ethic, you earn rewards.”
Students selected from the audience were able to come up on stage and open the backpacks, which contained various prizes.
Saxton also told the students that backpacks can help them achieve their dreams.
He shared with them his personal journey of achieving his dream of becoming a WWE wrestler. He showed a video of him wrestling pillows in his pajamas in the basement and recounted the trials he faced before finally getting the chance to be not only a wrestler, but also a WWE commentator, ring announcer and backstage interviewer.
“All that was made possible because of my work ethic, my dedication and my discipline,” he said.
At the end of Saturday’s event, free backpacks filled with school supplies, provided by Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, were handed out outside the MLK Center.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News.
