PRICHARD RESIDENTS MARCH AGAINST VIOLENCE

While Americans remembered their war dead on Monday, hundreds of people
took to the streets in Prichard to remember 6-year-old Kearis Bonham.

The Prichard Harlem Area Community Weed and Seed Strategy in conjunction
with the Bullshead Community Action group sponsored the Kearis Bonham
Anti-Drug Rally and Memorial March.

Bonham was killed in December by stray gunfire while standing on his
grandparents' front porch on Leggett Avenue. Prichard police, who were
responding to a call in the neighborhood, have said that the gunfire was
intended for them.

Monday's event started with a march down Clark Street and around the
Bullshead community in southwest Prichard. Estimates of the number of
people who participated in the walk range from fewer than 300 to 500.

A rally followed along with activities for children, including face
painting, balloons, a merry-go-round and an air-filled jumping station.

Teams of volunteers went door to door, surveying residents about changes
they want to see in their neighborhood, said Gerald Alfred, director of
Prichard's federally funded Weed and Seed program.

"I can see the morale of the community changing, and that's the bottom
line," Alfred said.