East St. Louis Peace Fest hopes to raise awareness of gun violence, police brutality

MC Lyte is coming to East St. Louis.

The renowned hip-hop artist will participate in the 6th Annual Peace Fest on Saturday. The event will be from noon to 7 p.m. at the City of Champions welcome sign on St. Clair Avenue.

The free event is hosted by Mayor Robert Eastern III and is put on to raise awareness about gun violence and police brutality, a news release from the mayor’s office stated. There will be local vendors and food trucks.

“As mayor, my vision is to partner with local churches and business leaders to take back our streets,” Eastern said. “I hope that this event will continue to inspire the community to walk in love, live in peace and overcome gun violence.”

The Lincoln Jazz Band, Little Dylan and others will join MC Lyte as performers. Scheduled to speak is Tracy Martin, the father of the late Trayvon Martin, whose story sparked change nationwide and brought attention to racial profiling.

For more information, contact Maurice Scott at 618-365-4418.

This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 2:05 PM.