By Aqueila M. Lewis

Answering the call for an International Day of Peace issued by the secretary-general of the United Nations in 2001, Oakland civic leaders, community representatives and clergy organized an Interfaith Prayer Vigil and Rally for Peace on Friday at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall.

   At noon, a silent, minutelong prayer for peace was shared between the diverse crowd of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist faiths. Faith leaders have committed to praying in their own language and fasting for 40 days in an effort to bring an end to the violence in their neighborhoods.
   “We are in the midst of 40 days of prayer and fasting to bring peace to the city of Oakland and surrounding cities,” said Josh Cotter, pastor of Bay Area Family Church in San Leandro and coordinator of the peace rally.
   “We want to bring unity in the community of faith and send a strong message of hope that we are committed to bring peace to our city, not just today but beyond this, with all of our resources and ministries as faith leaders to support the mayor and police and really make a difference.”
    Civic leaders in attendance at the celebration emphasized the need for continued peace within the city. “This is a good day of hope and peace in our city,” said Josie Camacho, Mayor Ron Dellum’s director of constituent services, as she read a mayoral proclamation to the attendees.
    “Oakland is a place of love, faith and opportunity,” said Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby. “We can stand here today and provide that hope because this is our community, and Oakland is based on families who care and know that there doesn’t have to be violence.”
    Rasheed Salaam, a member of the Alameda County Faith Initiative Advisory Council, told attendees, “We are all human beings, and with our differences, we can learn from each other.”
    Salaam is working on creating a campaign to organize resources and scholarships for Oakland’s youth.
    Minister Keith Muhammad, representing Louis Farrakhan’s office and the Nation of Islam, stressed that “merely saying the word ‘love’ isn’t enough; we need to show it in our actions.”
    Long-time crime prevention veteran and author Stephanie Mann of Street Safe Kid urged the community to “keep yourselves safe. There are two police officers for every 1,000 citizens; it doesn’t make sense to believe that the police can make us safe. They come in and take a crime out of the neighborhood temporarily. It’s up to the people in the neighborhood to come together and make sure the problems do not return.”
    For more information about the International Day of Peace, visit www.internationaldayofpeace.org or contact Pastor Cotter at joshcotter@familyfed.org.

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