Anti-violence rally takes place with heavy hearts

Perry South victim would have attended

Josh Adams was busy planning an anti-gun violence rally last week when his close friend was gunned down.

That rally took place as planned on Saturday, but for those in attendance at P.R.O.M.I.S.E’s “Stop the Violence” gathering in Allegheny Commons East Park on the North Side, the memory of Nicole Dailey was as harrowing as it was symbolic. After all, if the 26-year-old mother hadn’t been shot dead in Perry South last Sunday, she would have been there.

The fact that she wasn’t brought new significance to an event that was already close to the hearts of many.

“[Nicole] was very close to me — like a sister to me,” said Mr. Adams, 29. “She was very kind-hearted, and beautiful in the mind, body and soul. She was everything to the organization. Her name will definitely carry on.”

Ms. Dailey — whose picture was displayed prominently in the center of the park on Saturday — was a founding board member of the nonprofit, which aims to help young people stay away from violence and realize their full potential. In addition to holding an annual free basketball camp on the North Side, P.R.O.M.I.S.E, which stands for “Protecting and Restoring the Order of Mankind with the Initiative of Serving Elders,” organizes this annual rally to promote peace and to remember victims of violence, like Ms. Dailey, who was shot and killed outside her home while with her 7month-old daughter, who survived.

“Evil cannot overtake good. But we can’t help it get a foot in the door,” said organization treasurer Mary Adams, Josh’s mother. “I know [Ms. Dailey] would want us to carry on and do this. She becomes part of the legacy.”

The legacy of the event is