The 25th annual Take Back the Night March and Rally opened with a loud-and-clear message of empowerment and solidarity when 150 men, women and children dressed in all shades of purple marched through downtown Wilmington Oct. 9.
Jennie Thomason, court advocate with the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services and event organizer, said the march is crucial to the purpose of the event: to raise awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence.
“We like going down Front Street, especially on a beautiful night like this, because there’s going to be a lot of people out. It really gives us a presence,” Thomason said. “It’s a great opportunity for men and women, all members of the community, to get together and say, ‘We’re standing up for victims and we’re not going to be afraid anymore.’”
Terrible endings for victims trapped in abusive relationships are common, as evidenced in stories of seven North Carolina women who died at the hands of a partner. Told through life-sized silhouettes in the Silent Witness exhibit, set up across from the Alton Lennon Federal Building, the display offered a quiet place to reflect upon the consequences of domestic violence, but Thomason said the organization wanted a positive message to prevail.
“This year, we want to focus a little more on empowerment, on stories with more positive endings. The sad endings still happen all the time, but we wanted to focus on what we do to empower victims and help them move on to a better time and better place in their lives,” Thomason said.
The theme for the 2014 event was inspired by services the organization provides and the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge that serves as a backdrop for the event each year.
“Our agency builds bridges. We connect women and victims to services they need. We provide them a stable place to be and we provide them a pathway to the next place they need to go,” Thomason said. “A bridge is a really good metaphor for what we do.”
District Court Judge J.H. Corpening, one of three judges who hears family court cases in New Hanover County, addressed the crowd settled on the steps in front of the Lennon Building after marchers returned.
Corpening shared some of his encounters with victims of domestic violence as a judge, some ending in tragedy and others progressing to a second act. He urged the crowd to take back a society engulfed in violence by imagining a better world and believing in their power to bring that world to life.
The event ended with a candlelight vigil.
email [email protected]
