“At Better Family Life we have the organizational infrastructure to work towards peace every day, but we use Peacefest as kind of like a revival,” said James Clark, vice president of community outreach for Better Family Life.
“Peacefest gives people a chance to come together, celebrate and enjoy the company of other peace-loving people.”
Every year, the event serves as the culmination of BFL’s Family Week – which Clark admits felt like “Family Month” this year because of an expansion of their Amnesty Project. For 2013, BFL’s “Family Week” kicked off the first week of August, but Peacefest is happening the final Sunday of the month.
They’ve held crime summits, networking events and their popular amnesty program under the theme of “back to the basics – faith, family and neighborhood,” but on Sunday it will be a big party at Forest Park’s Central Field.
Peacefest 2013 will feature a concert headlined by R&B singer Chante Moore with special guests Ray, Goodman and Brown and an appearance by actor and martial artist Michael Jai White.
“Chante was like, ‘How can I play a bigger role?’” Clark said. “Ray, Goodman and Brown wanted to come in early to help promote the festivities. And Michael Jai White, his thing was we need to begin to teach our young people martial arts. We have to do something to curb this gun violence thing.”
The event (which kicks off at 10 a.m.) also includes a car show, softball and kickball for young people and adults, as well as an expanded children’s play zone. While the atmosphere will be upbeat, Clark said that a special guest will remind everyone why it’s so important to remember the peaceful intention of the event.
“Tracy Martin – Trayvon’s father – will be with us at Peacefest this year,” Clark said. “And his sentiments are it’s time for America to heal and it’s time for the African-American community to heal – and that’s all about peace.”
Clark says that BFL promotes neighborhood-based resource delivery 365 days a year through their housing, workforce, youth and clinical divisions, but he feels Peacefest can spark a movement.
“We hoist it up to say, ‘Every summer, St. Louis, let’s focus on peace,’” Clark said. “We want that to reverberate in St. Louis and, because we are centrally located, to become a regional and national event.”
This year’s theme – Back to the Basics – is the perfect springboard to do so.
“We’ve got to get back to the basics,” Clark said.
“We have strayed away from our faith. We have lost our connectedness in the families, and we’ve lost the infrastructure in our neighborhood. It’s going to take good people coming together to say, ‘We need to begin to network,’ or ‘we have to begin to look out for each other more.’ We can no longer let the vocal minority dominate the landscape. It’s 10 percent of the population that is holding 90 percent of the population in fear.”
Clark also feels that St. Louis’ negative reputation for crime is an advantage when it comes to spearheading Peacefest as a national initiative.
“What city better to host Peacefest than St. Louis, being dubbed the most dangerous city in America?” Clark said.
“We see Peacefest becoming a national event, because America is on the brink. We are either on the brink of spiraling out of control as a community, or we are on the brink of galvanizing and reclaiming our families and our neighborhoods.”
Peacefest will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, August 25 at Forest Park’s Central Field. The event is free and open to the public. For a full lineup of festivities, times for scheduled events and/or more information, call 314-381-8200 or visit www.betterfamilylife.org.
