ATLANTA, Ga. — A major rally against youth violence will happen on the steps of Atlanta City Hall Thursday night.
The rally is in response to the shooting deaths of two Atlanta Public Schools students.
Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke to Tiffany Smith, whose 15-year-old son, Cameron Jackson, was one of two young men shot and killed near Atlantic Station last month.
“Every little thing reminds us of Cameron,” Smith said.
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Zyion Charles, 12, was also shot and killed during the same incident.
“It’s still hard,” Smith said.
Smith told Washington that now, her mission to end youth gun violence is helping her heal.
She is working to provide resources for young people in Atlanta.
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Thursday night, Smith will attend the ‘Stand Against Violence’ rally.
“We just decided that if not us, then who? And the time is now,” said organizer Zion Byrd.
Both Byrd and Eleanor Jones will host the event, organized by the Atlanta Public Schools Student Advisory Council.
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The APS chief of police, Ronald Applin, told Washington he will attend the rally to support the students.
“If you have a student who is probably friends with some of these kids who are involved with incidents, if they can be that person who whispers in their ear and say ‘Hey, we don’t need to do this,’ that’s powerful,” Applin said. “That’s the power of peers.”
“It just shows that young people are ready for change and they’re ready to transform the city with us,” Smith said.
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