Nonviolence event draws students
More than 3,000 students attended the Nonviolence Youth Summit held recently in Little Rock at the State House Convention Center to promote the principles of nonviolence.
It has been reported that Arkansas is the fourth-highest in violent crime and the eighth-highest in property crime in the country. Safewise.com reported in March that Arkansas’ violent crime increased by 16% year over year.
With the recent homicides in Little Rock, Pine Bluff and other acts of violence throughout the state, The Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, a division of the Arkansas Department of Education, hosted a youth summit that highlighted solutions to the recent violence in the state and across the country.
“Our community outreach projects are designed to promote education, an appreciation for history and to encourage youth to engage in positive leadership development and roles within their communities,” said DuShun Scarbrough, executive director.
The students took part in workshops and breakout sessions that promoted alternatives to violence and leading positive lifestyles. Hip hop icon and media mogul Percy “Master P” Miller, 51, and his celebrity son Romeo Miller, 32, were the keynote speakers for the summit. Actor and model Marion “Pooch” Hall, 45, also came to share his past experiences of overcoming violence.
“Master P rose from the depths of poverty and heartbreak, even losing family members to senseless violence, to become one of the wealthiest and most successful entrepreneurs of all time,” said Scarbrough. “He is very branded. He has owned a basketball team, clothing line, shoe line, cereal, potato chips, he is a business mogul, and he has reimagined the ‘No Limit’ brand across several plat
forms.”
Scarbrough said Percy and Romeo Miller were relatable to many Arkansans and could bring inspiration and hope using their platform along with the brand of ‘No Limit’ to help change the lives of young people.
Percy Miller, who grew up amid poverty and crime, told the Pine Bluff Commercial he got tired of watching young people around him die. “My life wasn’t perfect,” he said. “I was trying to figure it out.”
Percy Miller said it wasn’t until he had his son Romeo Miller that he wanted to change his life.
Romeo Miller said his dad taught him the tools for success — accountability, faith and having a vision. “We are living examples of anything being possible if you believe, put education first and put God first,” he said.
Hall, who said he grew up in a violent town in Massachusetts, said it was important for him to use his platform to be an influencer of positivity.
“There’s not a lot of people who make it out from violent situations,” said Hall, who noted that most of his classmates got involved in gangs and were killed. “It’s important for me to spread some type of awareness and positive influence to help our youth because being a father, our kids are the future. What we instill in our kids now, good values, good principles, positivity, love … that can dictate how our future can go.”
Isaac Cline, a high school freshman who attended the summit, said he learned that even if you come from nothing you can still believe and work hard for better things in life.
High school junior Jadavien Banks said he learned that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. He said listening to Master P talk about his life made him want to choose the right way.
“You can end up in jail,” he said. “You got to have a great mindset and not hang around a lot of ‘yes men’ because they will always tell you yes, even when it’s wrong.”
Cline, Banks and high school students A.J. Higgins, a sophomore, and Tymir Coppins, a senior, were selected by the Arkansas MLK Jr. Commission to provide bodyguard detail for the celebrities. “This was something new for me,” said Coppins, who added that the experience taught him responsibility, trust and loyalty.
“I probably would have never had this type of experience if it wasn’t for the commission,” Higgins said.
Scarbrough said the commission used the youth summit as an opportunity to raise awareness and provide engaging opportunities for youths to learn about financial literacy, conflict resolution and King’s principles of nonviolence targeting 17- and 18-year-old students.
It wasn’t just the students who received valuable life lessons; parents were also in attendance as the Millers spoke about integrity, respect, the importance of education and accountability.
“Stop making excuses. If you want to do drugs and you want to go commit crimes, that’s on you. It’s another route and another way to be successful,” said Percy Miller, who told the parents to stop being their child’s friend and be the parent. “Hustling, stealing and killing is not going to last. It’s temporary. It’s quick. Now you’re back trying to do it again until you get caught and you’re in prison.”
Percy Miller said if you do get a second chance in life, “make the best out of it.”
“You don’t have to be a perfect person but you got to always try to do what’s right,” added Romeo Miller. “We all go through something but we all got a shining light. Keep going. If you’re going through a hard time, keep going.”