Black and Brown Collective Fellows Visit CP4P Partners

Members of the Black and Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence pose at the Metropolitan Peace Academy.

Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA) and the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC) proudly welcomed fellows from the Black and Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence for a dynamic and engaging site visit last week. The Collective’s inaugural cohort of pre- and post-doctoral scholars – representing a wide range of disciplines including public health, criminology, sociology, social work, and more – visited the Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) sites as part of a two-day professional development intensive in Chicago.

The visit provided a unique opportunity for fellows to gain deeper insight into the mission, values, and community-based strategies driving Community Violence Intervention (CVI). Over the course of the 90-minute session, MPI staff offered an overview of the Academy’s role in supporting Chicago’s CVI ecosystem, shared best practices around practitioner training, and lead a peace circle.

Samuel Castro, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC) addresses the Black and Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence during a group discussion.

The discussion later that day at INVC highlighted the importance of representation from the community through data collection and analysis – a key piece when shaping the narrative about safety and wellness in spaces disproportionately impacted by gun violence. The visit highlighted how it takes partners and representation on the ground, in research labs, in policy making rooms, and so many other spaces to help end cycles of violence.

CP4P was honored to host such an inspiring group of emerging leaders and looks forward to future collaboration with the Collective as we continue working together toward safer, more equitable communities.