300 Men March Trek To Washington To Build Awareness
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- They're men on a mission in what has been an extraordinarily bloody summer in Baltimore, walking from here to Washington to show just how much this city is in crisis.
Mike Hellgren was there as it ended.
Baltimore is up to 208 murders and counting. As members of the group 300 Men March were already ending their long journey in Washington, another man was shot in the head in west Baltimore. They say enough is enough and hope this made a bold statement.
This group of men took more than 70,000 steps to raise awareness for the crisis of more than 200 murdered in Baltimore this year---including the children brutally killed like Arnesha Bowers, three teenagers murdered just last week, and the random violence, including a firefighter shot on duty.
"We have too many young people dying in cities across the country, and we're raising awareness of the need for men to get involved and recognize their role in that," City Councilman Brandon Scott said. "We're operating in a state of emergency, so everyone should be operating like that."
The group marched down North Avenue last month, but they've never gone this far.
"It's bringing us closer, bringing us tighter and showing us what we really have inside of us to really carry this mission through," said Munir Bahar.
Tired legs, tired everything---by the end, they were running on adrenaline. At a break near the end, Nathan Thomas' sister was overcome with emotion for her brother's accomplishment.
"Y'all are the truth. Don't ever let anybody tell you different. Ever," she said.
But Thomas says he's far from his goal.
"Cutting the murder rate in half, not turning on the news and seeing little children killed," he said.
A long journey that's far from over.
The 300 Men March organizers say they would like to hire more young people to work in the organization. For more information, click here.
