MANSFIELD — Pam Williams owned a funeral home in Mansfield for four decades, finally selling her family-owned business in 2021.
Still associated with the McPherson Street business, now operating as the Marlan J. Gary Chapel of Peace Funeral Home, Williams has seen more than her share of death.
But she has seen a change in recent years, especially this year in a city that has seen seven young people murdered in the first half of 2023. Nearly all of those cases remain unsolved.
Speaking at the third-annual Kay Day Peace March on Saturday in downtown Mansfield, she bluntly told those gathered in Central Park she would like to see her business return to what it used to be.
The third-annual Kay Day Peace March was an event created by a group of local organizations to honor former North End Community Improvement Collaborative community organizer Geneva “Kay” Smith.
Smith, a former community organizer and anti-violence advocate, died in December 2019.
It was organized in 2023 by the Kay Day Committee, NECIC, City of Mansfield Police Department, Mansfield Community Against Violence, Mansfield Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Restored Visions, Richland County Children Services and We ACT.
Organizers said the event sends a message to the community: “We are here for each other.”
Some of the initiatives and programs Smith led were The North End Elder program, Neighbor Up Night, M- CAV, Open Table, My Brother’s Keeper and more. She was the Youth Advisor and 3rd Vice President of the Mansfield Ohio NAACP Branch.
She also was an active partner with the Mansfield Police Department, Richland County Children Services, Restored Visions and We ACT.
The celebration also served as a day to uplift mothers who have lost a child recently and kids in the community that need school supplies — both are groups Smith was passionate about.
The celebration consisted of a free food, free backpacks and school supplies provided by (MIMA, NAACP Education Committee, Crossroads Church, and other community members) and live entertainment.
This year’s event also honored families in the community whose loved ones were the victims of gun violence. Each family was presented with a “Compassion Blanket.”
“Our job as funeral directors was to bury our old, to bury our sick. It was not to bury our youth,” Williams said. “I would like to present the youth with a challenge that when you’re presented with a situation, I challenge you to go back in the day, to say, ‘I’m not going to make this move. I’m gonna stay here.’
“You are important. I’m not gonna say everyone was affected, but I would probably say at least half of these young men left behind babies. That means we’re working on a generation of children that are not going to have a father in their lives.”
Williams, one of several speakers after a march down Park Avenue West, drove a hearse to lead the march. There was a sign on the vehicle that read, “Put the Guns Down, We don’t want your business THAT bad.”
“That’s the bottom line,” Williams told a large group in Central Park. “So help us not to sit across from another family making arrangements for a son or a father or a brother or a grandson.
“I challenge you young people to say, ‘We’re not gonna do this anymore. We’re gonna make sure that the funeral director is doing what they’re supposed to do.’ And that is burying our elderly when their time comes, burying those who were sick.
“Back in the day, we didn’t have this kind of violence,” she said.
The 90-minute program in Central Park, which began at noon, came after a spirited march from the five-way light at Park Avenue and Bowman Streets. Those gathered sang and chanted their way to the park gazebo.
Marchers carried peace signs and photos of loved ones who had died due to violence. Events in Central Park included music and dancing, as well as a list of speakers.
“This event honors my sister’s legacy for her service in our community and the lives she touched. She was the founder of Mother’s United to S.A.V.E. (Standing Against Violence Everywhere) that meant so much to her,” said Smith’s sister and Kay Day Committee member Aretha Grier.
Mansfield police Chief Keith Porch walked in the march and also praised Smith during the Central Park event, which included family members of people killed by gun violence.
“I had the chance to work alongside her for about four years. I can tell you that she was absolutely passionate in regards to the city of Mansfield in making sure we stop and curb violence within our city,” Porch said. “I get paid to do that job. She stepped up to volunteer to do that job and it was inspiring to see how passionate she was. It was truly her vision.
“I understand in today’s world that typically people pay attention to problems when it lands in their front yard and only when it lands in their front yard. It was Kay that viewed the front yard as the city of Mansfield.
“We gathered behind her to make sure that we could be a part of that program and whatever the Mansfield Police Department could do do to curb violence in our city,” the chief said.
Porch, who acknowledged the increased violence in the city, said he had spoken to school leaders, community leaders and pastors in the community.
“It comes down to what can citizens do? What can we do to help solve this problem? The police cannot do this mission by ourselves. We need community support to make sure that we can curb this problem.
“Ultimately, we want it to where it never gets to the law enforcement’s problem or issue. We want those issues solved within the community. I love Kay’s saying, ‘If the problem was in the community, the solution is also in the community.’
“And how true that is,” Porch said.
The event included several clergy members, including Senior Pastor Renea Collins from Kingdom Grace Fellowship Church on Reba Avenue.
“We’re grateful to be here today, glad to be a part of this peace rally. And my assignment is to pray for these families,” Collins said. “Before I pray, I want every family that has been impacted by senseless violence to know that you are not alone. That we are praying for you, we are standing with you. We are trying to do everything that we can do.
“We have offered ourselves as clergy, we have offered ourself as a safe place where people can come and tell us. If they don’t want to tell the authorities, come tell us and let us work it out, getting the information to the authorities.
“So just know that we are with you all. We want you to know the clergy in Mansfield want you to know that you are not alone,” Collins said.
Stan Jefferson, superintendent of Mansfield City Schools, spoke at the event and also praised Smith.
“Mansfield City Schools is very proud of Kay Smith. I was her teacher, she did sports and she was actively involved in the Mansfield City schools as a youth and in the community. So this day, recognizing her and giving her special recognition is truly deserving,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson urged those in attendance to join in the “Peace on My Block” initiative that is bring promoted by the school district.
“We are a great community. We are not ‘TY’ Tygers for nothing, right? So we are a great community. Great communities come together when there is some form of adversity.
“I coached for 41 years and there were highs and there were lows. But at the end of the day, nobody was going to break that link of that chain. This is our community. “We need to resolve this issue in our community, within the schools to the community, from the community to the schools. So, ‘Peace on My Block’ is something that we as a school district are pushing.
“But we can talk about peace in our families and peace on the corner. This fall in the Mansfield City Schools, we’re gonna be talking about peace in our classrooms and peace in our buildings,” Jefferson said.
Leonard Dillon, president of the Mansfield Chapter of the NAACP, urged those with information about gun violence to come forward.
“In the Black community, we know that a lot of us know what’s going on and who these people are. But we are afraid to come forward for one reason or another. Maybe it is distrust of the police department, distrust of certain people.
“But if that’s the case, then there are other avenues are out there. A person could come to me, the NAACP president, and let me know confidentially what’s going on. I’ll take that confidentially to Chief Porch. We’ve met, we’re all concerned about the situation going on,” Dillon said.
Jamie Windham, who works with counselor Buffi Williams at A Beautiful Mind in Mansfield, handled music and sound during the event. He recalled growing up with Smith’s younger brother and credited her with helping him avoid trouble as a youth.
He also challenged community leaders to do more for youth.
“If I came to you and I wanted to trade you something for your car, but I have nothing to trade, would you trade me your car?
“That’s what we’re doing with the kids. We’re asking them to give up something, but we’re not giving them nothing. Until we organically start giving our youth something to focus on, they’re gonna focus on what they focus on.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t have to worry about doing anything that I wasn’t supposed to do because we had the Friendly House, we had dances, we had the pool, we had bowling, we had skating.
“I didn’t even know nothing about doing nothing bad because we always had something to do. So if we try to get our youth back, we have to give them something to do.
“Because if we let them figure out what they gonna do, we see what they do. So I’m with ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and we’re trying to do things like programs. We go to the parks, we play basketball, we do dances, we try to do some of everything. We go to the YMCA, we take them to the movies.
“But we need participation. We need dedication, we need our community back,” Windham said.
His words were echoed by Vincent Hess, who lost his son to suicide earlier this year.
“I feel like a lot people go out there and talk. We do a lot of talking in Mansfield, but nobody does any effective actions.
“These kids are angry. They have nothing to do every day. They get out here and they’re just angry. You have everybody in this community talking about this that, but nobody’s talking about these kids and having something constructive to do with their time.
“There is nothing for these kids to do. How does Mansfield not have enough money for a city pool, but Shelby does?
“We have nothing here for these kids to do. We think the crime is going to stop. It’s not gonna stop. Nobody’s putting nothing here for them to do.
“Their minds are wandering every single day. There’s nothing for them to do. This community doesn’t wrap their arms around them,” said Hess, one of several family members who spoke near the end of the event.
“These kids are angry. They just want effective outlets. I’m tired of this community that’s talking. Can we get some effective action? We need effective communication. We need effective action.
“There’s nothing for these kids to do. They’re angry and I’m angry.”
