2nd annual MACGV Walkathon to combat gun violence draws hundreds to Lake Nokomis
When Nia Black, 23, was shot and killed in the former Lamplighter Lounge parking lot in St. Paul three years ago Tuesday, her mother, LaTanya Black started a gun violence prevention movement in the Twin Cities.
She founded Mothers Against Community Gun Violence, and standing together with several other mothers who’ve lost children to gun violence on Saturday, she kicked off the non-profit’s second annual MACGV Walkathon at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.
“I just couldn’t understand,” Black said reflecting on the upcoming anniversary of her daughter’s death, something she prefers to refer to as ‘Honoring Nia’s Life Day.’
“When it happened, I just didn’t know, like, how do you how do you get through this? How do you get through this kind of pain? I need to look another mother in her eye and [have her] tell me how you made it to three months, three years, three weeks? Because three minutes, I’m dying every day without my daughter.”
Nia Black’s picture was printed on her t-shirt as LaTanya Black led roughly 40 people on a 2.7 mile walk around the lake. Among the crowd were Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and the Minneapolis City Councilmember from Ward 11, Emily Koski.
Nia Black’s older sister, younger sister and brother also spoke.
“This is the first year I had the courage to come. I flew up from Texas to come support my family,” younger sister Raven Black said to applause.
Money raised at Sunday’s walk will go to supporting MACGV support services for victims’ families and gun violence survivors, LaTanya Black said.
The non-profit also spends time doing gun violence prevention education in schools and advocating for change at the Minnesota State Capitol, like funding for violence prevention, which was passed this year, she added.
“We’ve never been able to truly secure funding. So a lot of this helps us with sustainability and office space and admin. Just all of that to run a nonprofit organization takes a lot,” Black said.
“I always say, ‘No, this may not put the end to gun violence, but every little thing we do beats doing absolutely nothing.”