THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290336
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 58 lines
A special significance hung in the evening air Monday as about 200 people marched and chanted during Norfolk State University's annual Candlelight March Against Drugs and Violence.
Violence had struck home Saturday, when George Larry Mills III, a 20-year-old student from Richmond, was fatally shot in the same Brambleton community that classmates, officials and friends targeted with their annual rally.
Among them was a 19-year-old student who offered only her first name, Karen. She recalled that she couldn't understand why her handsome, ever-smiling friend George hadn't called her back over the weekend. She stood teary-eyed in the grassy area behind Phillis Wheatley Dormitory, facing the reality that George Mills was the victim of a violent act that she and others were marching against.
They mourned the loss of ``a Spartan'' while marching and chanting that drugs and violence must come to an end in the Brambleton community.
``It's always a sad occasion when we lose a young person who really just started out his life. . . .There should be a message that says drugs and people who are dealing them are dangerous and not in our favor,'' said NSU President Harrison B. Wilson, who postponed a trip to Richmond for the rally.
Members of the student body, community and staff held candles and chanted ``Victory is mine'' while marching west on Corprew Avenue across Park Avenue as police cars with flashing lights cleared the way. Guided by other police on bicycles, students held signs reading ``End Violence'' and ``End Homicide.''
The march ended on the grass behind the Wheatley dorm, where the marchers gathered to hear speakers both lament and celebrate the reason they were there.
``This is a joyous occasion because you are celebrating your abstinence from these substances and violence. But it is very sad because we recently lost one of our own,'' said Carolyn Bell, NSU vice president of development and community relations.
``There was a time when you could walk through this entire community without worrying about any kind of violence,'' said the Rev. Bernard Branch of Bethlehem Baptist Church, one of Monday night's key speakers and a former resident of the community. ``Many of those times have changed.''
The symbolic event, part of the city of Norfolk's Red Ribbon Week campaign against drugs and violence, provides an opportunity for the university to reaffirm its commitment to the surrounding community.
For Karen, vivid memories of George Mills will help heal the wound of losing her friend.
``He would always smile,'' she said, taking a breath as she struggled to control her emotions. ``I wish I could have gotten to know him better.'' ILLUSTRATION: LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Maurice Hawkins, an NSU junior, joined the annual Candlelight March
Against Drugs and Violence, part of the city of Norfolk's Red Ribbon
Week campaign for safer neighborhoods. by CNB