IofC USA Statement on Tragic Shooting at Huguenot High School Graduation
As an organization dedicated to interrupting cycles of violence with cycles of healing, our hearts at IofC USA are broken and devastated by yet another incident of violence that evolved to an act that took two sacred lives and injured and traumatized the lives and spirits of many in our beloved community of Richmond.
We want the Huguenot High School Family and those impacted by the shooting to know that Initiatives of Change USA cares about them and this tragic, horrific loss of the life of Shawn Jackson, along with his father, Renzo Smith and the devastation caused by the injuries of others. While we cannot begin to understand fully your pain and anguish, during times like these, the community needs to come together more than ever.
In deep reflection in the aftermath of this tragic loss of life, it is clear that we need a deep healing and revolution of priority and leadership in our city and society regarding effectively disrupting cycles of gun violence and the various forms of structural violence that contribute to gun violence in our communities. We send our deepest condolences and solidarity to the families and those impacted and traumatized by the actions of Tuesday’s tragic shooting.
We as Initiatives of Change USA also vow to continue our work of modeling a way forward towards a new future of healing & restoration through expanding our “I AM Here” programming in partnership with Dr. Ram Bhagat and the Drums No Guns Foundation as we continue to provide sacred safe spaces for healing and transcending the cyclical impacts of gun violence in our communities.
May the many lives that our city has lost in Tuesday’s tragic shooting and throughout our city over the years from Monroe Park to Mosby Court inspire all of us as a city and society to do the spiritual, societal, and yes systemic homework that have been divinely assigned to each of us in this moment in order to GRADUATE from this cycle of violence in our city and beloved community. In the midst of tragedy, we also find it important to congratulate the newest class of Falcons from Huguenot High School for enduring and overcoming so many challenges and truly embodying what it means to be “Huguenot Strong.” Our children have done their work to graduate and now it is our turn as a city to do our work so that we as a society and city can graduate and walk across from a stage of chaos & hurt over into a stage of community & healing.
We urge everyone in our society in the diversity of gifts, approaches and capacity that we possess to allow the loss of life we experienced Tuesday to develop in us what Dr. King called “the fierce urgency of now” so that when we see the cycle of violence developing, from the nascent stages to the nefarious outcomes, that we activate our higher selves to be the interruption to hate! It is up to us to cultivate new mindsets and new cycles of healing in order to achieve a new future. A future where graduation is about the lives of our children triumphantly expanding instead of tragically expiring. We look forward to creating a new way forward with all of you. But at this time, like many of you, we grieve.
Yours in Solidarity,
The Iofc USA Family