Taylor Bembery
Associate Editor
What better way to celebrate the life of Latasha Norman than to come together to put an end domestic violence, one stride at a time.
The Latasha Norman Center for Counseling in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs will host the Latasha Norman 7th Annual Run/Walk on Nov. 8 at 8:00 a.m. Registration/check-in will start at 7:00 a.m. in the Jackson State University Student Center.
The walk is held to commemorate the life of former JSU student, Latasha Norman, who lost her life to domestic violence in 2007 and to bring awareness to domestic violence prevention.
According to dosomething.org, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Last year, 250 JSU students, staff, faculty and community supporters, braved the early morning 40 degree weather to participate in the annual event.
At the run/walk, participants can expect to meet Norman’s family. Danny Bolden, Norman’s stepfather and domestic violence awareness advocate, still finds time to teach others about the affects of being in a domestic violence situation while dealing with the loss of his loved one. He is scheduled to speak at this year’s run/walk.
Bolden has worked untiringly to sound the alarm against domestic violence, homicide, and dating violence in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and churches. Bolden has spoken to approximately 10,000 students in Washington, Bolivar, and Sunflower counties throughout the state of Mississippi and told how domestic violence affected his family with the untimely death of his stepdaughter, Latasha Norman. He has also worked with Our House, Inc., in Greenville, Miss., which offers an array of services for domestic violence, sexual assault, and homicide.
According to the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence (MCADV), Mississippi ranks the 5th highest in the nation for domestic violence. Even though the state has continued to rank high over the years, programs across Mississippi are creating ways to bring awareness.
Recently mcadv.org launched their “Take The Pledge” campaign for men. This campaign challenges men to challenge stereotypes, to call out sexist attitudes, to stand up to domestic violence, to not stand by in silence, to speak out if they hear excuses for violence or victim blaming, and to spread the word that violence is never an option or a solution.
The collaborators of the run/walk this year are: the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Bachelor of Social Work Program, Art, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Latasha Norman Counseling, Myrlie Evers- Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities, Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Pastor E. McGowan of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). The shirts for the run/walk will have an illustrated picture of Latasha Norman on the front and will be light purple with yellow writing. Interested runners/walkers can register and pay online for the Latasha Norman 7th Annual Run/Walk at 10.14.12.245/marketplace keyword: Latasha
