“Really, I’m tired of seeing what I see.”
Day after day, it seems that acts of violence and terror are the headlining stories around the world as well as here in the Kansas City area.
“It’s so easy for us to go from tragedy to tragedy. Something will happen, we’ll be upset for a few days, get stirred up and then go back to life as normal, and then the next one happens and then we’re upset again.”
Kenneth Mack, 32, known on the stage as Chosin, wants to change that.
On July 15, he and others gathered at Liberty Memorial to remember 56 people who had lost their lives due to violence in 2016. While gathered there, Mack shot a music video for his song, “Let it Go.”
“It ties into everything that’s going on and just wanting to see change, wanting to see people get better, back to being unified, to loving on each other, showing peace.”
A verse in the songs says, “Living in a world filled with shame, the blame is spread long with few working for change.” It's a change that Mack and others are working to spread throughout the community.
“We’re very aware it’s going to take more than a song, more than a music video to really bring change,” he said. “I wanted the music to bring awareness to the problem.”
During the vigil, people who had programs implanted in community spoke to encourage others to get involved.
Community Programs Mentioned:
- Cure Program
- Unity Group
- Young Life
- Pullover for Prayer
*For information on groups not hyperlinked, contact kenny_price15@yahoo.com.
Mack believes the best way to solve the problem is to get people unified and reach the youth.
“Really just having that village mentality of everybody looking out for each other. It took years to get to this point. This wasn’t like an overnight thing and it’s not going to be an overnight change, but pouring into our youth - the next governors and presidents and lawyers and doctors - pouring into them and allowing them to see you can be something more than what you see on TV. You can be something more than what you see in the environment around you.
“We’re not too far gone to change. We’re not a point where things can’t get better, but each one of us has to take responsibly for the change that we want to see.”
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