Can our community come together? Student sets the wheels in motion

In an effort to promote peace and understanding, Belleville East student Cayla Adams is organizing Belleville’s first Peace Gathering.

To make the event a reality, the 16-year-old had to meet with city officials and get it approved by the full City Council, which she did at the Aug. 1 meeting.

At first, Cayla envisioned a peace march, but she said the mayor and police chief had concerns about street closures. However, instead of giving up, she went back to the city with a peace gathering instead.

“It was actually pretty interesting,” Cayla said about working with city officials. “They were really nice.”

Cayla’s family has organized peace marches before in East St. Louis, but she wanted to hold an event in Belleville to raise awareness.

“Our family is very close friends with Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, so every time he comes into town we typically host a peace march, but it’s typically in East St. Louis,” she said. “We wanted to change the venue, because not a lot of people come out to that march because it’s in East St. Louis. I wanted to start one this time, because typically the older adults do it.”

Trayvon Martin was 17 years old when he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, in Sanford, Fla., in February 2012. The story received national attention after police failed to charge Zimmerman with a crime. Zimmerman was eventually charged but was acquitted by a jury in July 2013.

Neither Trayvon Martin’s father or mother Sybrina Fulton are expected to attend the Peace Gathering as Cayla said they are scheduled to attend other events that same day.

Cayla said Tracy Martin babysat her mother when she was younger.

Cayla wanted to hold the Peace Gathering before school starts. “There’s not too much that happens in August in Belleville, especially,” she said.

Cayla hopes to host more peace events at other locations in the future.

In addition to organizing the peace event, Cayla has spent the summer practicing cheerleading and attending band camp. She plays the Alto saxophone like her mom Brandy Thomas did. She’s been playing the last six years.

She’s very devoted to cheerleading as well.

“I’m in the gym about 21 hours a week for cheer alone,” Cayla said. “I love competitive sports, which is what pushed me into cheer. I played basketball for four years (at Belle Valley), which is why I chose basketball cheer, because I have a fond love for basketball.”

Q: What will the Peace Gathering entail?

A: “As of now we will have multiple performances by a band called Anthony Lucius and possibly dancers. We will have a lot of guest speakers. There will also be a few organizations passing out information about their group to gain more understanding.”

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with the Peace Gathering?

A: “Just a chance for the community to come together, especially teens to realize the different organizations out there. Until I started going to the city council meetings and talking to different people, I didn’t know half the organizations that we have.”

Q: How did Trayvon Martin’s death impact your family?

A: “It was traumatic, but I feel like we all came together even closer after it... When things happen in the family, we tend to stick together.”

Q: What are you most looking forward to with your junior year of high school?

A: “Actually I’m in Running Start so I’ll be going to SWIC (Southwestern Illinois College) so I’m most looking forward to the change of environment but still being able to be a cheerleader and a marching Lancer.” Running Start allows high school students to earn a high school diploma while simultaneously earning an associate’s degree from SWIC.

Q: What classes will you be taking at SWIC?

A: “Right now, I’m taking chemistry, English, speaking and history.”

Q: What was it about the Running Start program that appealed to you?

A: “Basically that fact that I come from a single-parent home, and it was a way to get some of the tuition paid ahead of time. It’s not as expensive. I’m getting basically all the generic ed courses out of the way, and it gives me a head start and a way to stand out when applying for scholarships and grants.”

Q: What do you hope to accomplish once you complete Running Start?

A: “Once I get done with the Running Start program, the long-term goal is basically that I will finish med school and become a pediatrician.”

Q: What made you decide to be a pediatrician?

A: “I love kids, and I always wanted to be in the medical field. It was always a tossup between a pediatrician and a veterinarian, because I love animals as well. I do really feel like I’ll end up being a pediatrician.”

Q: How long have you been doing cheerleading?

A: “I’ve been cheering for six years and before that I danced for seven. I did ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, acrobatics and contemporary and hip hop.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Can our community come together? Student sets the wheels in motion."