LAURINBURG — This weekend, McDuffie Square was a hub of fun and excitement as the downtown location served as the central spot to kick off the Stop the Violence Task Force’s community outreach initiative.
The community-centered event, organized by Stop the Violence’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, included free food, raffle prizes, games, bouncy houses and an array of resources, all geared toward unifying the community for the common goal of decreasing gun violence among Scotland County’s youth.
Shaw Academy Principal and Outreach subcommittee co-captain Joshua Williams said the aim of Saturday’s event was not only to have fun but also to connect people and create an atmosphere of dialogue to find solutions toward curbing violence.
“Before we can change things in the community, we gotta come together and be able to talk and see what we need to change in order to make those things happen,” Williams said. “This is just the first step, everybody coming together, building relationships and from those relationships it’s going to help improve the entire community.
“I think this is a great start.”
Scotland County Schools Superintendent Adell Baldwin said that for positive change to occur, the community coming together is key.
“We’re going to have to do it together; Not the Black man, not the white man, not the native man, not the Hispanic man,” Baldwin said. “We’re going to have to come together as one body under one God and pressing towards a mark of bringing about change. We’re gonna change our community one person at a time … We’re going to have to come together and be our brothers’ and our sisters’ keeper.”
Gun violence is not the task force’s only battle.
According to Baldwin, Scotland County has lost an entire graduating class’ worth of people in the last 10 years to opioids.
“We graduate about 400 kids from Scotland High School,” Baldwin said. “In the last 10 years, we’ve lost over 400 people in Scotland County to opioid deaths. So it’s not just about the gun violence. It’s about changing our mindset.”
Lauriburg’s Chief of Police Mitch Johnson said the kickoff showed that the community was willing to all unite for a common good and he was “hopeful that change comes quickly.”
“I believe that most of all it takes accountability and someone to see that there needs to be a change,” Johnson said.“I think the good thing that we see here with all those who come out, we realize that everyone sees the capacity of coming in together can also bring about change.”
Williams said Saturday’s event is the first of what is to be a series of community events to pop up throughout Scotland County.
“Our goal is to be able to have this in every area in the community in order to make sure everybody feels they’re involved,” Williams said. “This (McDuffie Square) is kind of a central location. Our next events will be in different locations throughout the city. We’re going to be having these throughout the rest of the year.”
Baldwin thanked all those who attended the kickoff. Although thousands did not attend the event, “we have the right people at the right place for the right time,” he said.
“This will not be our last one,” Baldwin said. “We’re going to keep this thing going.”