Honoring the victims of violence

Published 12:00 am Monday, April 18, 2005

After getting six metal plates put in her back, Pastor Deborah Wright was just thrilled to be able to march the Broad Street anti-violence parade. The turnout was gravy.

“I’m thrilled with the turnout,” she said.

Two weeks before Saturday’s parade, Wright was in the hospital, tended to by her husband, Ernest, who also helped organize the event.

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“It really was a victory for me to walk in the parade,” she said.

Every year, Deborah and Ernest Wright put together the “Love recovers all” Recovery Day parade and Torch Run.

The parade honors victims of violent deaths over the past year and encourages area residents to fight addiction and violence.

“Let’s make history in a positive way,” Ernest Wright said at the end of the parade Saturday. “Let’s just become some great praying community.”

Overall, the parade drew dozens of area residents, many of who wanted to honor the victims of violence in their own families.

“We get the list from the Sheriff’s Department and the City’s (police chief),” Deborah Wright said.

At the end of the event, the litany of names is read off.

This year, the list included 12 names from the previous year. Other names from years past were added by participants who wanted to honor their fallen relatives.

“We do from April one year to April the next year,” Wright said.