FORGING A PATH FOR PEACE WITH THE ORGANIZERS BEHIND LIVE FREE

What does it mean to be a peacemaker in 2022? In this third installment of our multi-part Black History Now series, we’re amplifying the anti-violence work of the LIVE FREE movement and the organizers fighting to put an end to gun violence and mass incarceration in communities of color across the U.S.

DIRECTOR OF URBAN STRATEGIES AND THE LIVE FREE CAMPAIGN

LIVE FREE’s top priorities involve reducing the amount of homicides related to gun violence and the number of people incarcerated in county jails. But for the organization’s leader Rev. Michael McBride (A.k.a Pastor Mike), achieving true freedom means eliminating all forms of violence, including the conditions that make violence possible. “There are a lot of forms of violence in this country that range from the death penalty to poverty, from inequities in the economy to the way folks are sentenced when they run afoul to the law. All of these are a result of state, systemic, and structured violence.”

The organization is supported by an extensive network of faith leaders across the country, many of whom have a shared connection with the very issues they are fighting against. Their work allows them to influence federal and state policies while also holding the criminal justice system accountable. “All of us have tools that can activate and unlock the power of organizing, the power of activism,” says Pastor Mike. “To be free from violence, to be free from racism, is, at its core, to be free. It is, at its core, what it means to live free.” Read on to meet two organizers affiliated with the LIVE FREE organization and how they’re using their own experiences to be agents of change.

For White, creating a pathway to dignity and eradicating shame is how we move away from gun violence and support decarceration. “It's that deep belief that because we are people of faith, nobody is expendable,” says White. She upholds the work of national organizations like LIVE FREE, but also acknowledges the significance of the local activists in Black communities across the country. “I think national organizations do a great job of coming in with rapid-response and amplifying the message, but actually seeing the victory through to the end falls on the shoulders of local organizations. So it's very important that they are resourced and that they have the support they need,” says White. 

She encourages us all to find ways to be stewards of change this Black History Month. “I'm just really pushing people to know that it takes everyone to create an all-encompassing movement, and that the first step is looking and doing a self-evaluation of what you have influence over,” says White.

When it comes to combating gun violence and mass incarceration in America, she believes we should first tackle the issues that keep Black communities on the margins of society. “We have to address the economic conditions that drive people to do desperate things,” says Jones-Davis. “I think that in terms of grassroots on-the-ground organizing, there's nobody that cares more about whatever issue you're talking about than the folks who are experiencing it themselves.”

Photos shot on location by Brittsense (A.k.a Brittani Sensabaugh) at the 16th Street Train Station in Oakland, CA 

Read on about the Levi’s® Black History Now Program.

Read on about our other Black History Now partner, Black Futures Lab.