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Charlotte organization aims to give a voice to youth in the face of violence

"We can sit around at the roundtable all day and say what we want as adults but it’s them they are our future."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When deadly violence strikes the Queen City, Million Youth March of Charlotte and Salisbury founder Mario Black is usually one of the first to know.

“Basically it’s a platform to get young people to take a stand against violence here in the city of Charlotte,” said Black.  

For Black, taking a stand means giving a voice to the youngest in the community. 

In the last several years Black has been involved in just about every peaceful march in the area to express ire over the violence. He says the August 2013 shooting that claimed the lives of Inna Gonzalez and Davion Funderburk inspired him to get started. 

“It was just something that was weighing heavy on my heart,” Black explained. “We just want to do our part -- continue to do our part to help decrease what we’re seeing in Charlotte.”  

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For the last eight years, doing his part has included marching, organizing vigils and offering grieving families emotional support. 

“We are not only there financially but we offer support during and in the days after,” he said.  

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The Million Youth March has eight adult board members and a youth board comprised of 15 members, who host panel discussions with teens. The intent is to prevent their voices from getting lost in the process of seeking solutions to violence.

"We can sit around at the roundtable all day and say what we want as adults but it’s them they are our future and so that’s really one of the things that we try to instill in our teens," Black told WCNC Charlotte. 

Contact Fred Shropshire at fred@wcnc.com and follow him on FacebookInstagram and Twitter.  

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