INDIANAPOLIS —Young people took center stage Saturday at the Madam Walker Legacy Center, leading a conversation about gun violence and how they can work alongside adults to help prevent it.
The event, called “Tru Dialogue,” focused on solutions and featured youth panelists sharing their lived experiences while parents and mentors listened from the audience.
“We have 28 young people from across the city here, in a leadership capacity,” said Brandon Randall.
Randall, founder of True Colors Consulting, said young people must be part of shaping strategies to reduce violence.
“They're experiencing it and they're in the thick of it. They have the wisdom necessary to find these approaches and strategies that work,” he said.
For the past decade, Randall has organized events designed to center youth voices in conversations that often exclude them.
“We were just tired of traditional conferences where adults talk about young people but they don't invite young people to the table,” Randall told WRTV.
Jahsan Wright, a community activist with Tru Colors Consulting, said the issue hits home for him.
“I kind of grew up with, played sports with, and then a couple of years down the line, they were, you know, unfortunately murdered…” Wright said. “It is important for me to be here today to support the young people.”
Thirteen-year-old Charles Innis said the dialogue helped bridge communication gaps between youth and adults.
“It's most definitely important because I feel like parents need to know what's going on in their child's life,” Innis said.
Ten-year-old Lizzie Harris shared a similar hope for understanding.
"I hope they learn that life isn't always the same for everybody,” she said.
Innis said the conversation also offered practical guidance.
“I feel like we both learned how like life works and stuff we shouldn't do. As kids and teenagers,” he said.
Randall said he believes community-based efforts are making a difference.
“Homicides and gun violence have been going down, which I attribute to a lot of the community-based efforts,” he said.
Still, organizers stressed that progress does not mean the work is complete.
Randall said challenges remain, particularly when it comes to access to firearms.
“We have to be able to get to the root of that."
Organizers said their goal is to turn dialogue into lasting action — ensuring young people remain at the center of solutions moving forward.
