Men pledge to stop domestic violence

Published 9:22 am Friday, February 13, 2015

Men of Action members take a pledge against domestic violence Wednesday morning during the "Men Taking a Stand Against Domestic Violence" event at Fred's Barbershop. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Men of Action members take a pledge against domestic violence Wednesday morning during the “Men Taking a Stand Against Domestic Violence” event at Fred’s Barbershop. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

 

A man hitting a woman is wrong and so is knowing it’s going on and doing nothing about it .

This is the message the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence is stressing in their Take The Pledge campaign, where men choose “to be a stand-up guy, not a stand-by guy.”

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On Wednesday, a local community group called Men Of Action took the pledge along with donating food to the Haven House Family Shelter.

“I am beyond elated with this,” said Wendy Mahoney, executive director for the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Mahoney was in attendance and was also one of the keynote speakers at the program that was held at Fred’s Barber and Beauty Salon on Drummond Street —where the idea of Men Of Action began.

Kimball Goodlow, a member of the group, said Men Of Action was born out of the desire to give back to the community.

“We came here to get our hair cut and started talking about how we could make a difference,” Goodlow said.

In addition to supporting the Haven House Family Shelter, the group also decided to be an example to other men and take the pledge, which calls on men to “challenge stereotypes, to call out sexist attitudes, to stand up for domestic violence, to not stand by in silence, to speak out if you hear excuses for violence or victim blaming and to spread the word that violence in never an option or a solution.”

“I don’t like domestic violence and me seeing it happen all around me — I wanted to do something about it,” Derrick Thomas said.

“It’s a good thing to be a part of this and people need to take the pledge to stop domestic violence. My mom was abused when I was younger. I want to help break the cycle,” Camerson Johnson said.

Both Thomas and Johnson are seniors at Warren Central High School.

Fred’s Barber and Beauty Salon was filled to capacity with friends and family members supporting the Men of Action. Also in attendance were local government officials, who sat in the barber chairs, where men would have normally sat draped in capes getting their haircut or beards trimmed.

“I applaud the men’s group who are wanting to make our community better. We’re dealing with a very touchy subject,” District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon said.

Mississippi is fifth in the nation for domestic violence and 85 percent of all abusers are men.

“I love the idea of men reaching out to men,” Selmon said.

“I think this speaks volumes for our community that these men are taking this pledge,” Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said.

“Let’s just now go from the barber shops to the beauty shops and to our community so that people will know we are going to be the leaders of this state and so people will know Vicksburg,” Flaggs said.

“Men of Action are making a change and they have started to influence every other men’s group in Mississippi,” Mahoney said.

For more information about the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence visit,
www.mcadv.org

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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