BALTIMORE — They’ve been active in the fight against gun violence across Baltimore for the last five years and now, Baltimore Ceasefire 365 is requesting help from the community as they prepare for a name change.
They’re a group of about 50 members united in their efforts to make the city of Baltimore, a city plagued with gun violence, a safer place by hosting ‘honk for peace’ rallies, and ceasefire weekends.
The city, for the last seven years, has recorded more than 300 homicides and for Erricka Bridgeford the co-founder of Baltimore Ceasefire 365, it’s time to shift their focus.
“We know that when you focus on what you don’t want and what you don’t like, what you manifest in your physical experience is more of struggling with what you don’t want and don’t like,” Bridgeford explained.
She says the group is aiming to focus more on what they’re advocating for and less on what they’re fighting against.
“Even though it has an X over it, there’s still a gun, an image over a gun and so again this logo still has some of the vibration of the very thing we don’t want. And the logo indicates we’re against this thing,” she said.
The city of Baltimore, while it’s rich with charm, culture and innovation, much of it is outshined by persistent violence.
So, Ceasefire is hoping to write a new story beginning with a new name.
“There’s peace flowing through this city more than there’s violence flowing through this city. But the story that gets told is only about the violence,” expressed Bridgeford.
Though they’ve been flooded with ideas like Baltimore Peacefire, Baltimore Rising, and Baltimore Lives, on Sunday, they’re hosting a community brainstorm at TouchPoint Baltimore to exchange ideas on a new name they’ll reveal by this time next week.
