LEXINGTON, Ky. — The annual Antonio Franklin Jr. Violence Intervention Project Peace Walk took place in Lexington Saturday. Those who participated did so to take a stance against gun violence.
It has been nine years since Antonio Franklin Jr. visited Duncan Park in April 2014. It was there that he was shot and killed in a random act of gun violence.
“He was an innocent bystander which, you know, we see too many of that happening all throughout the country,” said Ricardo Franklin, Antonio’s brother.
10 days after Antonio was killed, his mother, Anita Franklin, put on the first peace walk in his honor.
She passed away six years after Antonio’s death due to natural causes, but Ricardo and his sister, Laneshia Conner, have continued her legacy.
“Just to see how it’s grown, it’s amazing, and it’s really rewarding for me to see how much we’ve been able to continue what my mom first started and really make it grow,” said Ricardo.
Ricardo is the community outreach coordinator for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, and has continued advocating against gun violence. Helping to organize the peace walk is one way that he does so.
“There’s many families out here that are still hurting and I think that’s the main thing and we still see shootings going on and, you know, until there’s no more shootings, we’ve got work to do,” said Ricardo.
Dozens of people gathered at Duncan Park for this year’s walk.
“While we’re honoring the lives of these lost victims, we wanted people to remember that this is a community event, it’s for the community,” said Ricardo. “There’s no, you know, hidden agenda for it, no nothing, it’s honestly just a real event that we’re putting on to make a change, to make a difference here.”
Families of those who have lost loved ones attended the peace walk. Among them was Cathy Swaine, who lost her son, Pietro, to gun violence in Nov. 2021 right outside of her home.
“The hurt never goes nowhere, it never goes anywhere, ever,” said Swaine. “I wake up every day and I think about my child because I know that he won’t get to walk down the aisle, and he won’t be able to get married, and he won’t have children. These are things that he’ll never get to do that he wanted so bad, but that’s okay because as long as I know that I’m out here diligently speaking about him, his name will never die.”
Swaine believes events like the peace walk are crucial to support others who are grieving the loss of a loved one due to gun violence.
“This is a big important thing to me because I make sure that people know that they not by themselves,” said Swaine. “If it’s just a hug that I can give to somebody, it’s going to make a difference.”
Ricardo believes that the people who were in attendance will be part of the change to end gun violence.
The event included a one-mile walk through the east end of downtown Lexington and speakers prior to the walk. Several of the speakers made comments in regard to having more gun legislation to help keep communities safe.