Minister Organizing March Against Gang Violence

Several hundred people are expected to take a stand against recent gang violence by marching through Venice for peace on Sept. 14, a local minister said Thursday.

Residents, police and politicians representing Venice and Mar Vista are being invited to participate in the march, said Rev. Robert Shipp of New Bethel Baptist Church.

The procession will begin at 2 p.m. at New Bethel, 503 Brooks Ave., and end at the Oakwood Recreation Center, 767 California Ave.

Marchers will stop for song and prayer on Broadway near Sixth Street, Shipp said. The two streets have been the sites of several shootings in recent months.

“There’s no more pleading for them to stop,” said Shipp, who is mobilizing area churches to attend the march. “The march is to give warning that we the people, the residents of Oakwood, that we are no longer pleading, we’re most definitely demanding.”

A youth outreach worker who asked not to be named said he will march to help make the community safer for his children.

“I’m tired of seeing yellow tape in my neighborhood,” the longtime Venice resident said. “We’re mad, we’re upset and previously we have turned our heads to the gangs . . . but we want to reclaim our community.”

Deanna Cherry, development director for the Mar Vista Family Center, said a meeting was planned for Thursday night to set a date for a similar march in Mar Vista.