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Sarah Rigg's Feature Article: Ypsi picnic uniting law enforcement with residents returns for third year
Transcription:
Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. What began as an effort to build stronger relationships between community members and law enforcement has grown into a year-round initiative focused on unity, connection, and community support. The third annual Peacenic Ypsi will take place on June 13th from 3 to 7 PM at West Willow Park in Ypsilanti Township, bringing together residents, organizations, public safety officials, and local leaders for an afternoon of fellowship and fun. To tell us more about the event and the work happening behind the scenes is Peacenic Ypsi founder, Reverend Joseph Jackson. Pastor Jackson, thank you so much for joining me here today!
Rev. Joseph Jackson: Oh, what an honor! What a privilege! And I'm just glad to be connected with you this morning!
Lee Van Roth: So, Peacenic Ypsi is now entering its third year this year. And for listeners who maybe aren't familiar with the event, can you give us a little rundown of what Peacenic is and where its inspiration came from?
Rev. Joseph Jackson: I sure can! Thank you for that question! Peacenic is really something that is really extraordinary. It's basically a community festival, and its gathering is intentionally designed to promote peace, unity, relationship building, and, I would say, positive engagement amongst residents, youth, families, law enforcement, faith leaders, organizations, and our community stakeholders. Peacenic derived from Detroit, Michigan. Back in 2022 is when it started. And I had the opportunity to attend in 2023, and they were bringing law enforcement and community together. So, that was the premise for them coming together. And it was such a wonderful scene. I was just in awe at how the community was connecting with law enforcement. Of course, you can't just leave it right there. But I saw that, and I was driving from the east side, and I had an epiphany coming back. And I said, "You know, I've got to connect with some of our key people in Ypsilanti to see if we can get this started." So, we started in 2023, and August is when we started our initial meeting. I met with former Chief of Police Kirk Moore and then I met with Supervisor Brenda Stumbo. And those were basically my launching points, and I was able to connect the dots with community leaders at that point. And then, some more youth got involved with some of the other community leaders through one of the other contacts at the Ypsilanti Township. And so, it just took off from there. So, basically, what it means in a nutshell is we're just fostering youth. We're fostering bringing seniors together. We're fostering understanding and trying to reduce violence basically through strengthening the community through relationships.
Lee Van Roth: And looking back at that first Peacenic event, what do you remember feeling about that on that day, bringing all of these folks together? And what did that tell you about the need for this sort of event here in Ypsi?
Rev. Joseph Jackson: Well, if I were to look back at 2024, I would have to say I really look back and wonder how we were able to really connect the dots that quickly. We had 50 service vendors that year, and it was an inaugural Peacenic in 2024 because what we did is we've witnessed the tremendous growth since then. But when I look back, I think about how we launched, how we were able to help create a space where people from all walks of life could come together in the spirit basically of peace and unity. And one of the things that I really, I guess, really brought hope from 2023 and 2024 is that I've seen each year strength in relationships, and we've been able to expand opportunities and reinforce our belief that when we work together, our community becomes stronger. And as we're celebrating this third year, 2026, as far as our actual festival, we really remain committed to fostering peace and building trust and creating a brighter future for all. So, when I look back, I'm able to look back and see how we've been able to connect the dots from our launching point and how we have been able to continue to engage in community involvement, a trusted process where we connect with community. And then, we work with our clients, which they're on parole. And we work for them and we started a group. It's called Community Roundtables. And so, we meet with the MDOC. And we have stakeholders. And so, the MDOC's parole personnel, we call them clients, we meet with them once a month at the St. Luke Church. And so, we wanted to ensure that we weren't just having a community event, but we were having a roundtable session where we could impact our community greater. And that's worked really well!
Lee Van Roth: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm Lee Van Roth talking with Peacenic Ypsi founder, Reverend Joseph Jackson. So, Pastor Jackson, obviously Peacenic is not just a great way for folks to come together in the summertime and connect with their neighbors, as well as community resources. This is something that's going on year-round with those community roundtables as well. And this year's event also is introducing another new addition with the "Pitch with a Purpose" competition for young entrepreneurs. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Rev. Joseph Jackson: I sure can! You know, the one thing that I'm really excited about is building a coalition of youth. I feel like we're building an ecosystem. The Pitch with a Purpose started back in October, and Dolores and Edward, they have an organization, RedeemHer, where they bring young people together. And they were able to help them build a business plan and successfully take them through several steps. And that has been wonderful! I was able to go to some of that sessions and to see how wonderful the young people connected with them. Dolores Alexander and Edward Pete are the leads of the program. And so, we are going to have youth there that are going to pitch just like the Shark Tank. We will have judges there, and whoever has the best overall business plan that's presented, they can win $500. And so that's a nice perk for young people to want to strive to do something positive and to put some money in their pocket. And then the second prize is $300. And last but not least is the third place prize, and they will received $150 for their business plan that they present. So, we're doing that. The Ann Arbor Museum, they're coming this year, and they're going to offer some nice things for our youth and for our community. And we have a magician coming this year also. That's the new feature. Alexander the Magician will be there. So, I told him, I said, "You cannot! You're not permitted from trying to make me disappear on the stage. We laughed. We had a a vendor's meeting, and we have 60 vendors this year0--60 service vendors. So, we're really excited about that. Legal services will be there. We will also have Washtenaw Community College. We have so many vendors! The FBI will be coming again this year with law enforcement. Washtenaw's law enforcement team, they're new, but they will be coming on board. Ypsilanti Police Department, Michigan State Police, so all of law enforcement will be represented there. So, we're excited about that. We're excited about the new opportunities and the new things that we're bringing. The YMCA is on board now. And so, they'll be coming over to hang out with us, and we'll probably do a song or two with them. But we're going to have a lot of fun! So, looking forward to it!
Lee Van Roth: If there are folks out there listening that haven't had a chance to interact with Peacenic before, whether it's the big summer event or those community roundtables or other opportunities to work with Peacenic, why would you say, "Hey, come on out this year?"
Rev. Joseph Jackson: That's a great question! I should put that in your lap, but I would say that they should come out to Peacenic this year because they are going to have an unforgettable experience. It is going to be an outstanding festival with family-friendly activities, youth engagement opportunities, community resources, live entertainment. I cannot forget our wonderful keynote speaker. Everyone knows her--Miss Debbie Dingell. And we're just looking forward to a grand time for about four and a half hours. That's it in a nutshell!
Lee Van Roth: Well, Pastor Jackson, thank you so much for joining me here today and sharing more about the work Peacenic is doing to really bring folks together throughout our community!
Rev. Joseph Jackson: Acts of change! Peacenic is on the move!
Lee Van Roth: The third annual Peacenic Ypsi will take place June 13th from 3 to 7 PM at West Willow Park in Ypsilanti Township. For more information on today's topic and links to the full article, visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
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