Rally Promotes Safety ‘Graduates Over Guns’ In Chicago

On a bittersweet Friday in Chicago, fire commissioner Annette Nance-Holt joined a group of elementary and high school students as they marched down West 103rd Street. The students were participating in the third annual “Graduates Over Guns” rally, walking proudly in their caps and gowns as they spread a message of peace and celebrated graduates who have avoided violence. In this article we talk about: Rally Promotes Safety ‘Graduates Over Guns’ In Chicago.

For Nance-Holt, the event marked the anniversary of a painful tragedy. On that same date in 2007, her 16-year-old son Blair Holt was fatally shot while riding a Chicago Transit Authority bus. As Nance-Holt said, the event was “awesome to see,” but also stirred up memories of her son, who never had the chance to graduate high school before his life was cut short.

The Roots of “Graduates Over Guns”

The “Graduates Over Guns” event was co-founded by Umi Brooks, a childhood friend of Blair Holt’s. After Holt’s death, Brooks felt compelled to transform her grief into positive action. She started the annual event as a way to support Chicago’s youth, stressing that even young students have the power to create change in their communities.

Over the years, “Graduates Over Guns” has evolved into a symbolic march passing the baton from high school graduates to elementary school students. The high schoolers share messages of hope and perseverance, encouraging the younger students to stay focused on their education and avoid the pull of violence. The event stresses the collective power students have to bring peace back to Chicago’s streets.

A Message of Empowerment

Egypt Paige, this year’s valedictorian at Percy L. Julian High School, hoped the elementary school students would take away a simple but empowering message from the march. “Live life. Have fun. High school is high school. We’re kids,” she told reporters. She wanted the students to know it’s normal to make mistakes at their age, as long as they stay dedicated to their future path.

Brooks echoed this sentiment about the power of youth. “It don’t matter how young they are, how small they are. They are mighty. They are courageous. They are vivacious. And they have the power within them to take back their streets,” she told local news station WGN. The event stresses that even small actions can have a big impact, and students of all ages can play a role in spreading peace.

The Broader Impact of Violence

While “Graduates Over Guns” delivers a hopeful message, it arose from countless tragedies still impacting Chicagoans today. Blair Holt’s death in 2007 caused reverberating grief for his family, friends like Brooks, and his classmates at Percy L. Julian High School. Over a decade later, his mother still feels that absence, even as she celebrates the graduates who proudly walk the route her son never could.

And sadly, Blair Holt is far from the only young life cut short by violence in Chicago. In 2021 alone, 97 children under 18 were shot and killed in the city. Events like “Graduates Over Guns” aim to motivate students, but also remind the broader Chicago community that our collective action and outrage is still needed. No mother should have to commemorate the anniversary of her child’s murder, and no child’s potential should be ripped away by a bullet.

Calls for City-Wide Change

While grassroots movements are starting locally in neighborhoods, Chicago’s violence crisis demands action from leadership at every level. Without fundamental changes in housing, education, mental healthcare access, economic opportunities and other upstream drivers of violence, the bloodshed will continue unabated.

City officials, state representatives, school board members, nonprofit leaders and business executives all have a role to play. Events like “Graduates Over Guns” should serve as a call to action, not just a photo opportunity. Until every student feels safe walking to school and optimistic about their future potential, work is still left to be done.

Honoring Blair Holt’s Memory

In the meantime, Annette Nance-Holt and Umi Brooks keep Blair Holt’s memory alive through their advocacy and community work. A man is currently serving a 75-year sentence for Holt’s murder, but true justice requires creating a Chicago where no more young lives are cut short by bullets.

The graduates marching down West 103rd Street give Nance-Holt hope, even as she continues to grieve her immeasurable loss. Each cap and gown represents a student who followed her son’s footsteps through the school halls, and stayed the course toward a brighter future in spite of the violence around them. The event celebrates their tenacity and invites our city to support them, so no other mother knows Nance-Holt’s sorrow.

The young students passing the baton have their whole lives ahead of them to create change. With the right guidance and resources from the broader Chicago community, their collective action may finally turn the tide toward peace. I sincerely hope you find this “Rally Promotes Safety ‘Graduates Over Guns’ In Chicago” article helpful.