BOSTON – Sunday, May 8th marked the 26th Annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Boston, kicking off at Dorchester’s Town Field 8:00 AM.

The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace has grown from a small gathering of neighbors to a movement of thousands who come together every year to promote Peace.  Organized by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, founded by Chaplain Clementina Chéry after her 15-year-old son Louis was caught in the fatal crossfire of a shootout near his home in Dorchester, the Walk was back live this year after being held virtually for the past two years due to COVID. The Walk also had a virtual component and was live streamed on the organization’s website and on NBC10 Boston’s and NECN’s Facebook pages.

“We are so blessed to be back together in person this year,” said Chéry. “It is bittersweet. There are people no longer here who should be here.  We walked for and with them and we hold them close.”

A brief speaking program emceed by Emmy Award-Winning Anchor, Latoyia Edwards featured Chéry, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said, “The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute is a pacesetter for the country on how to respond to homicide.” On stage, she reminded the crowd of the years spent doing the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace with her own mother before she passed and told the story of how Mama Pressley was so committed to this event and its mission, she took several steps before becoming too weak to continue in her final act of activism.

“The walk is now a legacy that came from a place of unspeakable trauma which has now built an organization and a community to help heal residents all across the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Mayor Wu. 

“To all the mothers out there that we honor and celebrate today, thank you for being the presence in our lives and our communities,” said Attorney General Healey.  “The best thing we can do today, all of us, is to honor them, and to honor all we’ve lost in these last few years especially by doing exactly what community is doing today.”

They shared the stage with several other leaders including Dr. Kevin Tabb, CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health, Cindy Diggs, Peace Commissioner and founder of Peace Boston, and Survivors Network Chairs Debra Morris-Covington, Natasha Carrington, and Beverly Parham.

“This is the only place I’d want to be on Mother’s Day.  It is so important for us to acknowledge the fact that homicides and violence are affecting the communities that we live in,” said Dr. Tabb.  “We all need to be part of the solution.”

Survivors Network Chair Natasha Carrington said, “It benefits us as survivors, it benefits us as a community, coming together to be there for one another to heal together.”

The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace had a practical side as well.  It serves as the organization’s single largest fundraiser and the goal this year is $600,000. By the next morning, they had raised nearly $430,000 toward that goal.  Teams and individuals registered online at mothersdaywalk4peace.org and collected donations.  There are many teams doing amazing work to make their goals and raise awareness. Go to https://bit.ly/peacewalkteam for a list of all of the incredible teams you can support right up through Father’s Day.

The following people and organizations have generously agreed to sponsor the 2022 Mother’s Day Walk for Peace:

– Martin Richard Foundation

– Rick and Gitte Shea

– Mass General Brigham

– Beth Israel Lahey Health

– Arbella Insurance Foundation

– Boston Medical Center Health System

– Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation

– Everytown

– Josie Greene and Glenn Asch

– Stanley N. Griffith and Anne E, Schauffler

– South Cove Community Health Center

– Patriots Foundation

– NECN, NBC10Boston, Telemundo

– Boston Globe

– Dorchester Reporter

About LDBPI:
The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s mission is to serve as a center of Healing, Teaching, and Learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. We have been an integral partner to the City of Boston and have developed best practices in serving families and communities impacted by murder for 28 years. We offer resources to families seeking support, training and homicide response toolkits to providers on best practices in the field of homicide response. Learn more at https://www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org/