OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Religious leaders gathered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oakland to reflect on the city’s past year of violence and remember King as a symbol of peace.

Pastors, poets, and grassroots community leaders spoke out on the steps of Oakland City Church on MacArthur Boulevard for an event called, “Hope In The Hour Of Homicide.”

Oakland had 134 homicides in 2021, however, the number of residents left scarred in the wake of violence is far higher, said Brenda Grisham, executive director of the Christopher L. Jones Foundation.

“Last year we lost 134 lives to the streets of Oakland. That turns into a thousand people hurting in our city,” said Brenda Grisham, whose son, Christopher Jones, was murdered 12 years ago.

Rev. Harry Williams asked, “What would King have said if he was still alive in 2022? This man gave his life to stand up against violence. What would he say about the violence shaking cities like Oakland?”

“The cause for which he lived is still a cause. The dream for which he lived is still a dream,” Williams said.

Two of the event’s speakers said they grew up surrounded by a cycle of violence in Oakland. They broke free through higher education, athletics, and community service.

Brandon Rosenity, a community organizer for AYPAL, was shot three times in 2016. He was laying in a hospital bed when he realized, “I had two options. Retaliation in the streets or get a college degree.” Rosenity chose the latter path and he graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz.

“To prevent violence, it starts with healing our hoods, normalizing connections, and compassion,” Rosenity said.

“We have a saying we say in the streets, somebody died here and we need to care. Marth Luther King had a dream for peace in the streets, he didn’t want us to kill each other,” Daryle Allums said.

Allums founded Oakland Frontline Healers because he realized that not enough was being done to help crime victims, especially youth. He organizes community members to get resources into neighborhoods where there are none.

“What really helped save my life was basketball. That ball saved my life,” Allums said.

Esker-D Ligon, a mental health nurse practitioner, said violence is a community health issue. “Hurt people hurt people,” she said.

Ligon provides counseling for people living on the streets, sitting down and talking to people who others have given up on. Many people who are struggling and desperate were traumatized at some point in their lives.

“When you see your best friend shot in front of you, many people deal with PTSD,” Ligon said.

She read a quote from King, “Riot is the language of the unheard.”

Ligon added, “PTSD is a riot within someone’s mind that prevents them from having a sense of well being.”

“Our children are supposed to bury us, not the other way around. The impact is much larger than the statistics say. What alternatives are we providing so people are not resorting to violence for how they are feeling? When there are resources being given in communities, violence can go down,” Ligon said.