Movement Not Moment initiative at Cardinal Ritter College Prep continues to address issues that lead to gun violence
An initiative started by students at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School in St. Louis to stand up against gun violence is continuing its mission to be a Movement Not Moment.
A second march and rally against gun violence was hosted Feb. 24, drawing hundreds of students from several high schools across the St. Louis area. The march started at Wohl Recreation Center in north St. Louis and continued along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, ending with a rally at Cardinal Ritter about two-and-a-half miles away.
Movement Not Moment is a student-led effort that Cardinal Ritter Prep started in partnership with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. In December 2021, the school hosted a march and rally in response to the death of Isis Mahr, a 2020 Cardinal Ritter graduate who was returning home from work at an elderly care facility when she was shot and killed.
“Our goal has been the same all along — to provide services for the students in our community,” said Orlondo Williams, Cardinal Ritter Prep teacher and faculty moderator of Movement Not Moment. “Young people want to feel safe and have safe things to do. We want to be on the front lines.”
Cardinal Ritter students have been involved in activities to address issues that lead to gun violence. Some of those needs include safe and fun activities and jobs for teens, access to trauma counseling and de-escalation tactics. Students also have dug deeper into the root causes of gun violence.
Students from Christian Brothers College High School attended the march in honor of their classmate and friend Colin Brown, who was shot and killed by a stray bullet in November. The shooting happened on Interstate 55 near Loughborough Avenue as Colin and his family were driving home from a hockey game.
CBC sophomore Peter Wagner emphasized the importance of community solidarity, likening their efforts to those of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“We need to approach this as a community, to think like Dr. King and stand together hand-in-hand, otherwise nothing’s going to get done,” Peter said. “We need to be ourselves, show that we have the power and go out and create change in the world.”
Cardinal Ritter student Alycia Davis and others remembered Isis Mahr as “full of life, love, joy and a vision” and whose life was taken too soon by gun violence.
“Gun violence is a leading cause of death for Black youth in America,” she told her peers at the rally. “This is a reality we cannot accept and we cannot ignore, and the change starts with us. We live in a time where a single post can reach thousands, where trends are like wildfire, yet we still struggle to create lasting change in our own communities. It’s time to take that same energy we put in viral trends and we use it to save lives. It’s time to speak up, to educate and to demand action, because if we don’t, who will? We cannot afford to lose another Isis.”
Isis’ father, Atif Mahr, said that young people are tired of the violence, and he’s been inspired by how they have been called to action. The family started the Isis Mahr Fund Against Gun Violence to provide CPR training for young people so that they can assist in the event of a shooting. Last year, the fund provided training for 50 people, with a goal to double that number.
At the rally, he told students that they’re like seeds that have been planted and will continue to flourish through their actions. “You guys are still in the soil, and the adults and the teachers are canopies over you to protect you, but also to water that seed,” he said. “So take in the water, grow, blossom and be who you’re meant to be and what God set forth for you.”
Movement Not Moment continues to be a student-led initiative, and future marches will be planned at other schools, said James Clark, vice president of public safety for the Urban League. Other activities being discussed include a yard sign campaign and in-school activities.
During Black History Month, the Movement Not Moment initiative challenges a generation of young people to do what past generations did, likening it to the next Civil Rights movement.
“The last movement, the issues were external,” he said. “Now the movement that’s needed is internal. When you look at gun violence and the overall crime that has gripped the African-American community — it’s not just in St. Louis, but every major city in America is faced with this crisis, and we want to use St. Louis as a catalyst.”
