It’s the second week of high school football in Birmingham City Schools. Parker and Ramsay High student-athletes hit the gridiron Thursday night to tackle violence in the first Stop the Violence Classic.“It’s killing our community,” Parker High senior Dylan Twymon said. “We need to come together, prosper and shine together, but it starts with us because we’re the next generation. We’re the next leaders. We need to stop it right here.”Usually, Stop the Violence events are rallies where organizers promote their message of non-violence and peace, but BCS wanted to do something different Thursday night by bringing rivals together on the football field.“It’s like a little rivalry,” Jermaine Parker, Ramsay High senior, said. “I really despise them as a team, but it’s a good time to come together to stop the violence.”Before graduating high school, Twymon and Parker both lost people they were close to violence. Parker lost a close friend just two days after this school year started.“It’s kind of scary because I can just walk out the house and it might be my last day for no reason,” Parker said. “It kind of took a toll on me like going throughout the week, but then I started realizing that they would want the best for me if they were still here.”“I know that he’s going with the Lord now and I can’t control it,” Twymon said. “It’s all in God’s plan, but one thing I do know is it could have been stopped.”Twymon said stopping violence starts with realizing the consequences of your actions.“Communicate with each other, trying not to take anything to the next level, talk about your problems first before you have to react,” he said. “Just think. Just think about your actions first.”Parker and Twymon said it’s an honor to be trailblazers, not just playing in the first classic game, but using their voices to make sure no one their age has to lose a friend or family member to violence.“We can impact the community,” he said. “We can put the message out all that we want, but we have to really do something to really make folks start doing it.”Before the game, there was a moment of silence to honor the lives of those who lost their lives to violence. During halftime, mothers who lost their children to violence were also recognized. The final score of the first classic game was 20-17 with Parker taking down Ramsay.
It’s the second week of high school football in Birmingham City Schools. Parker and Ramsay High student-athletes hit the gridiron Thursday night to tackle violence in the first Stop the Violence Classic.
“It’s killing our community,” Parker High senior Dylan Twymon said. “We need to come together, prosper and shine together, but it starts with us because we’re the next generation. We’re the next leaders. We need to stop it right here.”
Usually, Stop the Violence events are rallies where organizers promote their message of non-violence and peace, but BCS wanted to do something different Thursday night by bringing rivals together on the football field.
“It’s like a little rivalry,” Jermaine Parker, Ramsay High senior, said. “I really despise them as a team, but it’s a good time to come together to stop the violence.”
Before graduating high school, Twymon and Parker both lost people they were close to violence. Parker lost a close friend just two days after this school year started.
“It’s kind of scary because I can just walk out the house and it might be my last day for no reason,” Parker said. “It kind of took a toll on me like going throughout the week, but then I started realizing that they would want the best for me if they were still here.”
“I know that he’s going with the Lord now and I can’t control it,” Twymon said. “It’s all in God’s plan, but one thing I do know is it could have been stopped.”
Twymon said stopping violence starts with realizing the consequences of your actions.
“Communicate with each other, trying not to take anything to the next level, talk about your problems first before you have to react,” he said. “Just think. Just think about your actions first.”
Parker and Twymon said it’s an honor to be trailblazers, not just playing in the first classic game, but using their voices to make sure no one their age has to lose a friend or family member to violence.
“We can impact the community,” he said. “We can put the message out all that we want, but we have to really do something to really make folks start doing it.”
Before the game, there was a moment of silence to honor the lives of those who lost their lives to violence. During halftime, mothers who lost their children to violence were also recognized. The final score of the first classic game was 20-17 with Parker taking down Ramsay.
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