Alpha Phi Alpha, one of the oldest African American fraternities in America, chose to take a stand against Chicago’s violence this past weekend and march for justice.
Three hundred fraternity members marched the streets of the Chatham neighborhood in Chicago last Saturday [November 21] in rain and snow to show violence needs to cease in the city. Joined by notable political figures such as Alderman Michelle Harris and many state representatives, the group chose Chatham because of the ongoing gang war in the neighborhood.
In an interview with the Chicago City Hall Examiner, Rev. Roosevelt Watkins, pastor of Bethlehem Star Missionary Church and a member of the fraternity, says the march was organized to confront the violence in the city but to also raise the economic development in the neighborhood.
The men were not alone. Many people left their homes and businesses to show support to them by beeping their horns and shouting their support. Fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper went on Twitter to applaud the men for their work.
The Alphas aren’t the only organization taking a stand against the violence in Chicago—the Honorable Louis Farrakhan also recently announced he will recruit men and women to march the streets to help stop the violence.
