Philly students, officers celebrate International Day of Peace in Kensington

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Students in one of Philadelphia’s highest-crime areas marched and rallied Friday for peace in their Kensington neighborhood.

Eighth graders from Julia de Burgos Elementary were among the hundred or so students who gathered in Fairhill Square Park for an early celebration of International Peace Day . Leahmaya Castro says she thinks the message of resolving issues peacefully is an important one for them to learn.

“In this community, I feel like a lot of people are not okay, so they force down other people and I don’t think that’s the right way to express your problems,” Castro said.

A big feature of the day was getting to know the local police, who joined the event.

Some students were racing police officers down the park lawn, others were tossing a football around with them. Jayren Morales was deep in conversation with the police district captain.

“We were talking about high school, and where I go, and how I grew up,” Morales said. “It was great. It was a great conversation and it was interesting.”

For most of the students, it was their first time meeting their local police.

Lt. James Russell says it’s great to connect while the kids are still young.

“The opportunity to interact with them one-on-one, bridging the gap, getting some face time with a lot of the kids is a positive for both the police department and for them as well,” Russell said.

Russell grew up right across the street from the park. He says the watchwords of his youth — “just say no to drugs” and “stop the violence” — are still very much the focus.

Peace Day was established by the United Nations 43 years ago. This is Philadelphia’s 14th year for local events, performances and conferences commemorating the day.

Peace Day Philly founder Lisa Parker says at noon Saturday, people are encouraged to take a moment of silence to think about peace. She says you don't have to attend an event to acknowledge the purpose of the day.

"Just increasing our awareness about peace in our own lives does have an impact in the days to come,” Parker said. “It's not only on September 21."