WALK 5

Walk 5: I Walk in Your Name


For walk 5, I asked my mother and my cousin to suggest a walk for me. They both agreed that I should walk for gun control in the United States in the name of my Uncle Timmy who was murdered due to senseless gun violence. My uncle, who was my mother’s older brother, was murdered in 2012 while sitting on a bus bench waiting for a bus. The murderers that chose to take his life did not know my uncle. It was a random act of violence as the result of a gun being in the hands of the wrong person. Witnesses heard the murderer saying, “It’s N*gga killing night!” The death of my uncle is still painful for my family, and we still struggle with this tragic loss. My cousin is a detective for Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD, so she has seen the results of gun violence in the streets of L.A. For the walk, my mother and cousin suggested that I go to neighborhoods that are known for gun violence. They wanted me to observe what the neighborhood looked like and what feeling I felt when I was there. They wanted me to think about all the lives that had been lost on those streets and the families that had to go through the pain just as we still do. They wanted me to silently pray for the families that have lost loved ones, pray for peace and protection for those who live in the neighborhood, and pray for gun control so that we can reduce gun deaths and violence in our country. For safety reasons, they did not want me to interact with or talk to anyone about why I was walking. They feel that prayer is powerful, and it could have a bigger impact than trying to speak to someone. We have done these types of walks with our church where we were walking as a group but silently praying for a cause. They went with me because they didn’t want me to go alone but stayed behind and did not interact with me during the walk. 


During my walk, I took pictures and videos of the areas where I was walking. I walked by a now famous area on Crenshaw Blvd. and Slauson Avenue where rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in 2019. It is now known as “Nipsey Hussle Square”. An area that was once filled with lots of people shopping at his store is now gated with no signs of life. I walked by a well-known shopping place in this area called “The Slauson Super Mall” but is known as the “Slauson Swap Meet”. This place is heavily secure with armed security guards because of all of the violence that has happened there. I observed how the neighborhood looked. There was lots of graffiti and lots of trash on the ground. I noticed homeless people on the streets. I noticed that there were security guards standing outside of many of the businesses in the area. As I was walking, I felt sad for all that have been killed, for the families, and for those that had to witness the violence. I felt a sense of fear hoping not to be approached by anyone while I was walking with my camera. While I was walking, I silently prayed for peace and protection over those who live in the neighborhood. I prayed for families that had lost loved ones. I prayed for gun control so people wouldn’t have easy access to guns to be able to kill other people. In the moments when I was praying, I felt like I was playing a part in change and that I was bringing honor to my uncle and the many lives that were lost by gun violence in our streets. 





This picture is for reference, but not a picture that I took. This is a memorial set up for my uncle when he was killed and the inspiration for my walk.



Nipsey Hussle Square








Slauson Super Mall or Slauson Swap Meet





Maps to show areas where I walked, took pictures and videos































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