PHOTO GALLERY: Silence the Violence event looks to cause change

April 28, 2012 | 4:17 p.m. CDT

Members of the community assembled Saturday for Silence the Violence. The event sought to raise awareness of and find solutions for the violence in the city. The event was partly in response to two fatal shootings of Columbia teenagers since mid-March.

Participants in the Silence the Violence march walk towards Douglass High School on Saturday morning. Before the march, participants joined in a prayer and watched the Chaotic Control Steppers, which is made up of Hickman High School students, perform. | Alyssa Goodman

Jasmine Rhea, 16, Nicolle Leonard, 17 and Dorothy Owens, 16, march during the Silence the Violence event Saturday. Participants in the march walked from Boone County Courthouse to Douglass High School.
| Alyssa Goodman

Jeff Johnson, BET Host and MSNBC News Contributor, speaks outside Douglass High School during the Silence the Violence. Johnson stressed that people need to stop talking about making changes in the community and start taking action to make a better community.
| Alyssa Goodman