Corvettes or Hearses: Tallahassee Leaders Ask Young People to Choose Their Future After a Violent October

Community leaders gathered at the Tallahassee Urban League on Friday, October 30, to deliver words of encouragement to Tallahassee's youth, parents and community members following a recent string of shootings in the capital city, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. The event combined prayer and community outreach with a procession of Corvettes and hearses intended to inspire young people to consider the choices they make and the impact those choices have on their futures.

The Tallahassee Urban League, the Leon County Sheriff's Office, the Tallahassee Police Department, ACLU Florida at Florida A&M University, the League of Women Voters of Florida and city and county commissioners came together for the gathering, according to the report. Afterward, participants traveled in a procession of Corvettes led by two hearses from Old Bainbridge Road to Perry Street, where they gathered in prayer near the site of a recent mass shooting. Organizers used the vehicles as visual reminders of two possible futures for young people: one marked by opportunity and success, and another shaped by the consequences of violence.

Speakers urged residents to take an active role in violence prevention - encouraging gun owners to secure firearms and not leave them in unlocked vehicles, parents to monitor their children and their activities, and community members to speak up when they see something that could lead to harm, the Democrat reported. City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox asked community members to start a conversation with a young person about who they are and what their life plans are, and Tallahassee Urban League President and CEO Curtis Taylor asked parents to remain attentive and to make sure young people in crowded areas have adult supervision.

The Urban League's Youth Crime Prevention and Intervention Program is available to Leon County school-age students and offers a workshop component for young adults and parents ages 19 to 35, according to the report. Throughout the morning, the Urban League, the police department and the sheriff's office repeatedly asked firearm owners to stop leaving guns in unlocked vehicles, calling the practice a preventable contributor to gun violence in the capital city.