WASHINGTON — Starting Tuesday, you'll start to see red signs standing in windows throughout D.C. saying 'Thou Shalt Not Kill.'
It's a campaign the Anacostia Coordinating Council is launching to try to combat gun violence -- and a familiar phrase for many.
It's one of the 10 commandments in the Bible, but it's also a basic tenet of humanity. The idea around the campaign is to blanket the area with bold red signs that just might make you stop and start a conversation with your neighbor, recognizing we all have a part to play to keep each other safe.
ACC Executive Director, Philip Pannell, said it's the resurrection of a movement that former councilmember Bill Lightfoot started 30 years ago during the crack epidemic. He said it helped spark a conversation, which is what the ACC is hoping to do.
"This is way to visually send a message throughout the community that the violence and the killings are unacceptable," explained Philip Pannell with the Anacostia Coordinating Council.
The ACC said they believe that too many people have become numb to the violence, and that’s triggering more shootings. They’re hoping a potential shooter will see the posters dotted throughout D.C. and put the gun down.
“I've talked with some young folks, teenagers who have already discussed what their funerals are going to be like. This is not the type of future that we want for young people," Pannell said. "And this is not the type of future we want for this city. And we must send the message that it is not routine, which cannot be routine to do to constantly have these murders.”
Pannell said that the D.C. government gave them 1,000 posters to start hanging around the city, and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention reached out to see how they can partner.
“I think it will help. Whether or not it is going to bring down the numbers dramatically in the short length of time, I would, I would love for that to happen," he said. "But at least there's a response. There is a visual response throughout the community on this. And that's what's important.”
He said they're also planning to have some teenagers walk in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade on Monday, wearing shirts with the movement's slogan.
"To say, statistically, crime and homicides are down, that might be mathematically true," Pannell said. "But that is little to no comfort to loved ones of people who have been murdered. So when people tell me that crime is down, I say yeah, it's down -- just right down the street."
Now, these signs will be, too.
“This disease of violence is like cancer -- it spreads, and this violence has spread throughout the whole city." said Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White, “We have to put resources and be intentional about saving our young people or our young people going to end up saving themselves.”
Busboys owner Andy Shallal spoke up at Tuesday’s meeting after his own employee was shot and killed right outside the restaurant just days before the new year. He said Mario Leonard had only worked at the restaurant for two weeks and was happy to have a job to keep him off the street.
“People are afraid to speak up afraid to open their mouths because they feel like the community doesn't have their backs,” Shallal said.
Activists, violence interrupters, lawmakers, and faith leaders will now work together to not just preach this message “thou shalt not kill,” but to reach the people who need a lifeline.
“It doesn't matter your age or where you come from, it's where you want to go,” said Makayla McCullough a recent graduate from Friendship Tech Prep High School who is now interning with mental health advocates.
The activists pledge further coordination in order to get city services to those who need it most.