A steady stream of rain earlier in the day did not keep families away from Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile on a recent Friday evening, as residents set up colorful lawn chairs for the second annual Push 4 Peace rally and prayer vigil. By the time the event kicked off before 6 p.m., bubbles floated over the square while children got their faces painted and adults browsed booths set up around the park.
A Response to Violence, Born From Tragedy
The gathering was started by husband and wife Danny and Danielle Pledger in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, as a way to bring the community together proactively rather than only after tragedy strikes. “We noticed that all the time, after bad things happen, people come together for vigils,” Danielle Pledger said. “We wanted to see God before something bad happened to our city.”
Organizers describe the annual event as a “spoken word and musical rally,” featuring a rotating lineup of speakers, rappers and dancers who used the stage to talk openly about their own experiences with violence while encouraging peace and prayer among those in attendance.
A Message From the Rally’s Host
Minister Roderick Odom, who hosted the event, spoke to the urgency he sees in the community. “We’re in desperate times,” Odom told the crowd. “So many young brothers and sisters are dying… Everybody is somebody’s baby.”
City Leaders and a Grieving Mother Take Part
The rally drew a number of notable faces from around Mobile, including Police Chief James Barber, a representative from Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office, and even the Mobile BayBears’ mascot, Bay B. Bear.
Among the speakers was Cassandra Rodgers, whose 25-year-old son was killed in a still-unsolved shooting years earlier. Rodgers, who now leads an organization called Worthy of Life, spoke on behalf of her family about the toll violence takes on children left behind. “Little kids are suffering without their parents,” she said ahead of the event. “I know what it’s like as an adult, I can’t imagine it for the kids. Children are going to be the next generation. We need to teach them that life is worth something.”
As dusk settled over Cathedral Square, the mix of music, testimony and prayer offered a rare moment for the downtown Mobile community to gather not in mourning, but in hope, organizers said, with plans already forming to bring the rally back again next year.