"A holistic approach:" Milwaukee's youth take to the streets to promote peace



MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee's young people are taking to the streets to promote peace on Friday, July 29th.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally



You can rain on their parade but you can't prevent them from promoting the positive.

"They got out the house, got some air and just came out here to do positive things," said Sir Zion Curlin, promoting the positive.

Friday, July 29th dozens of young people and community organizers made their way along Milwaukee's Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, and into MKE Peace Place for the 14th annual Summer of Peace Youth Rally.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally



"They're excited, that keeps me excited. That keeps me motivated," said Fidel Verdin, rally organizer.

Fidel Verdin has been organizing the event for the past 14 years.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally



"It's to be able to expose the community to all the great programs that are actually happening. Be able to expose the parents to some of the agencies that exist, and also to be able to expose some of these organizations to each other," said Fidel.

These organizations include a variety of artists, vendors and service agencies,a nd while Friday's rain pushed a contingent of children inside the HeartLove Place building, folks waited out the precipitation while remaining positive.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally



"We did community service days leading up to the event. We've been out here in the garden, we've been doing cleanups," said Shalini Ali, TRUE Skool.

Shalina Ali is with TRUE Skool, which uses urban art to engage children socially.

"We take a holistic approach and talk about paying attention to a whole self, and being healthy and healing -- and what this place can look like as far as that goes," said Ali.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally



The hope is that what it looks like will draw additional attention to young people promoting the positive.

"Hopefully people see the same thing we see when we see children. We see love. We see future," said Verdin.

A collection of flags has been posted in the planters right next to the vegetables at MKE Peace Place. The hope is that the symbol of unity that they convey also continues to grow.

Summer of Peace Youth Rally