Undaunted by tragedy, family rallies residents against violence
Marisa Luse could have simply become angry over last year's shooting death of her 18-year-old brother. Instead, Luse and her family decided to turn tragedy into positive action.
"My family and I - our whole world was just shaken," said Luce about the loss of her brother, Herman Taylor III. "Even though we lived in a community where violence is present, we never imagined it would happen to our family."
Shaken, but not defeated, the family set up the HT3 memorial fund and held a peace rally and march last year, which started out with about 500 people. Several hundred more joined the march as it made its way through Dorchester.
"I've never seen anything like that," said Luse. "It was a very powerful experience."
The family will hold another peace rally at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at the Freedom House at 14 Crawford St. in Dorchester. There will be a vigil at 8 p.m. Several community groups, including the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and the Boston Ten Point Coalition, will participate. City and state officials, including City Councilor Sam Yoon, are scheduled to attend.
The rally will serve two purposes, according to Luse. The first is to increase awareness of violence in a neighborhood too often startled by the sound of gunfire.
The second is to engage residents to take action by building a sense of community.
"When people aren't talking to each other, why should they care about each other?" said Luse.
According to his mother, Sara Luse, Taylor was an outgoing, athletic young man who cared too much about the people he grew up with to distance himself from them, even when they got into trouble.
"He still believed he could make a difference," said his mother.
Because Herman loved working with children, the HT3 fund has a goal of sending several Dorchester children to summer camp for two weeks every year.
"If you can change one or two minds, that's a great thing," said Sara Luse.
For information on the peace march and rally, go to ht3fund.org.
GARY DZEN 