DETROIT (WXYZ) — There were dozens of performers on stage at Saturday's "Fun City Not Gun City" event in Detroit, but many would agree one performer stood out in particular, Joyce Branham.
The pastor, rapper, and former 30 year teacher in Detroit told 7 Action News many people at the event also know her by her alias, "Harriet Tubman of the Hood."
Detroit council member and co-chair of Detroit's gun violence task force, Fred Durhal said Harriet Tubman of the Hood, "Means freedom, when we talk about Harriet Tubman obviously that means freedom and that means us being free from violence."
Saturday was the third annual Fun City event, Branham said it was inspired by her time teaching in Detroit and seeing her students suffer from gun violence.
It included food, jewelry and gift sales, and kids games, but the primary entertainment was the rapping and dancing on stage.
Branham says her positive and inspiring lyrics are meant to, "change the consciousness of young people."
According to statistics posted by the Detroit Police Department, Detroit continues to be one of the poorest and most violent cities in the country.
So far this year 669 people have been non-fatally shot in the city, more than 50 Detroit kids have been injured or killed.
These are statistics that Durhal knows well, he said; "You know it’s not just gonna be policing that helps us solve gun violence, it has to be a community approach."
Dujuan Zoe, an advocate for gun-prevention who has a past related to gun violence said, "It’s not a gun issue, it’s a behavioral issue that has to be addressed."
The event wasn't a press conference, it wasn't a gun trade-in, and it wasn't a community panel.
It was a night of rapping and dancing led by a community elder.
It was hopefully one tangible step forward to help curb the city's gun violence.
