LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — This month marks 12 years since Ricardo Franklin watched his mother receive the worst possible news a mother can receive. But, perhaps, more importantly, he watched how she reacted to that news.
“To lose her son and then to turn it into an event like this to help the community, it means the world to me. It meant the world to her. It means the world to my family,” he said.
Franklin is getting ready to host this year’s Antonio Franklin Peace Walk at Duncan Park on Saturday afternoon.
His brother, Antonio Franklin, was shot and killed in that same park 12 years ago. According to Lexington police, Antonio was a bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply caught up in someone's argument.
The first Peace Walk was held in his honor just 10 days after he died, and this year, Ricardo is expecting about 300 community members to attend.
“I always go back to the first peace walk my mother had when she had one community resource. Now we have upwards of 30 each year and we want to keep growing,” Franklin said.
His mother, Anita Franklin, passed away six years ago from heart failure, but not before turning her immense pain into a positive. Anita organized the first Peace Walk and then spent time working as a community outreach coordinator in Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt’s office.
Anita passed Ricardo the torch when she died. He know hows the outreach job and is the organizer for the Peace Walk. Over the years, their effort, in conjunction with the work of One Lexington and other community partners, has led to a decrease in gun violence among the city’s youth. During the last two and a half months, Lexington hasn’t had a single homicide involving a minor.
“It shows people are buying into this, so it's an issue we don't have to see at all. So, the numbers are [eventually] zero,” Franklin said.
Franklin added that the walking part of Saturday’s gathering is just a small part of what’s planned, despite the event’s name.
“We have speakers, singers, live music, games, [food] and community resources. We invite everyone. I want it to feel like a day in the park and to celebrate, not mourn necessarily,” he said.
“It’s truly rewarding for me, and it makes me feel I have a part of them with me,” Franklin said of his late mother and brother.
