By Keith D. King Photos by Darrel Wheeler
This past Sunday marked the 7th Annual Increase the Peace, Stop the Violence Blacktop Classic. The event took place at O’ffarell Charter School. Many people from the community came out and showed their support. Powerful messages were delivered, and a lot of basketball was played including a game with many players from the community going against members of the San Diego Police Department.
I caught up with Lincoln High Boys Basketball coach, and founder of the event Jeff Harper-Harris during the event. He explained to me that he loved the turnout and also expressed that the event wasn’t just about the games being played.
“Every year we hold this event to bring the community together. We try to do it right before cool starts so that it can be fresh in the kid’s minds.”
All of the guest speakers delivered powerful messages on an array of topics from gang violence, bullying, and going to college. I asked Coach Harper-Harris about Former Lincoln High, and current Toronto Raptors Guard Norman Powell who helped put on the event.
“Norman is a special person, as a NBA player his schedule can have him anywhere, but he promised me a while back that no matter what, he will never miss this event, and it’s not just him. I have some players that I coached all the way back to 93 that are still coming out and supporting this event as well”
Powell, who has been a participant in this event since he was in high school, expressed his commitment to not just this event, but his community when we spoke.
“I think this is one of the best events in San Diego, period. It’s always positive. I have always felt an obligation to my community, even when I was at Lincoln. I used to speak to kids about stopping gang violence. I always told myself that I wanted to give back to my community, and never forget where I came from.”
I also spoke with some of the other people in the community to see what they thought about the event, and the show of support it received.
Kamal Gilliam, a community resident told me “I come out and support this event every year, show my support to coach Harper-Harris, and these kids. Plus we get to see all of the best basketball players in San Diego.”
The event definitely was a success, and from the looks of things, the event will continue to grow every year, and pass on strong messages to the youth and the rest of the community when it comes to stopping the violence.
