“No more silence, stop the violence” cookout promotes peace

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – After his brother was stabbed to death at an apartment complex, one Frankfort man wants to stop the violence.

Derrick Morris spent his Friday afternoon at Dolly Graham Park in Frankfort, hosting a picnic for the community. But, why? Because he doesn’t want anyone else to go through what he’s dealing with right now.

According to police, Derrick’s brother, Marcus Morris, was stabbed to death at the Hickory Hills Manor apartment complex nearly two weeks ago.

Now, knowing firsthand what it is like to lose a loved one to violence, Derrick Morris wants to create change.

With the motto, “no more silence, end street violence,” Morris seeks to do just that, giving people in the community a safe space to build relationships with each other, in an effort to promote peace.

Morris says it’s important to remember all the victims of violence, not just the one that impacts him most.

“It’s not just about my brother,” said Morris. “If we’re going to make positive changes and we’re going to stop the violence, then it’s not just about him. He’s not the only one that has died from the violence. My family’s not the only victim, my mothers not the only grieving mother out there. His kids aren’t the only kids grieving the loss of their father. It’s about all of them. It’s about every single victim on the list.”

Morris tells ABC 36 he wishes something had been done to help end the violence before now.

“This should’ve been done a long time ago,” said Morris. “There’s been too many kids dying. Too many mothers burying their sons and stuff and me burying my little brother. That’s what brought me here now. Now we’re going to make sure they didn’t die in vain. I want their deaths to mean something.”

So now, Morris is using his brother’s memory, to create the peace everyone has been looking for. The best way to do that? He says it’s through building healthy relationships.

“It’s about family,” said Morris. “It’s about making Frankfort, our community, our family. Because at the end of the day, we all live here, we all grieve when somebody leaves so we’ve got to come together and we’ve got to be peaceful. It’s about making peace. It’s about making Frankfort what it used to be. It’s about family.”