OPELOUSAS, La. — In Opelousas, marchers walked through East Laurent Street to raise awareness about gun violence in the city.
Taking to the streets in white as a symbol of unity and peace, marchers promoted Sakohfa, which in Swahili means to learn from the past and move forward for future generations.
"I don't want people dying on these streets because it makes me sad and their families sad," Tremaine Levier, an 8-year-old marcher.
The only way to progress is to unite, says Operation Opelousas March organizer Cory Levier.
"Per capita Opelousas has the worst reputation when it comes to crime and murder and people getting hurt," Levier told KATC. "So we wanna reverse that reputation by trying to encourage people to come out here and show love and we want to promote unity through that."
Along with his father, Levier's son is dedicated to ending violence in Opelousas
"I hope that we can stop this violence, get a lot of people here," said Tremaine.
Operation Opelousas will host the march every Thursday until July 27th. Participants can meet at the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana at 5:30 pm.
