Men and Boys Rally to End Violence on Sept. 17
Calling all men and boys who care about safety and justice for women and girls! Join the 13th annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Men — the Walk will step off west on Central from the University of Memphis’s Ramesses II statue immediately after the 5:15 pm rally so come in time to borrow from our supply of women’s shoes – or bring your own – and choose a sign that expresses your concern for ending rape, intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking. Registration will begin at 4 p.m.
Women – invite or bring to the Walk the men and boys in your world who would appreciate a chance to stand with us against the tyranny of violence that happens only because we identify as female. We will walk together for ending domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, stalking and all other violence aimed at women and girls.
Register online here.
5:15 pm Rally
5:30 pm Walk
The Memphis Area Women’s Council initiated the Walk locally downtown in 2010 from City Hall down the Main Street Mall to Front and back to City Hall. The Walk continued annually 2011-2013 in the Broad Avenue Historic District and then blossomed in 2015 as the centerpiece in a day of events that launched the multi-media Memphis Says NO MORE campaign.
Memphis Says NO MORE became the organizing theme of Walks along Beale Street and the Mall in 2015 and 2016 and in a one-mile loop at the University of Memphis beginning in 2017. Recent Walks have drawn government officials, judges, doctors, professors, ministers, lawyers, police commanders and athletes.
By 2019 the Walk was drawing nearly 300 participants. COVID-19 prevented the 2020 Walk. It returned with signature masks in 2021 and has pranced the route along Central, Highland and Poplar every year since.
Photo by Trey Clark, University of Memphis
Redefining Masculinity: Men as Allies in the Fight against Gender Violence, by Chelsea Tait Lucas
2019 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Draws 280
Some guys borrowed high heels, some brought their own, and some shoes were destroyed in the process as the ninth Memphis Walk a Mile in Her Shoes once again gave local men a chance to rally against domestic violence and rape.
Football players, fraternity members, community leaders and others from two universities and across the city joined women in the Walk that launched from the University of Memphis Ramesses II statue plaza on Sept. 25.
At the rally, UofM student leaders Antonio Scott, president of Student Government Association, and Alex Tate, executive director of SAPAC (Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center) urged students to help make the university a place free of sexual assault.
Kenneth Anderson, the university’s Title IX coordinator, thanked students for joining the Walk and reminded all to look out for one another in settings when risky behavior could arise.
Two longtime Walkers – Kevin Reed, a Shelby County judicial commissioner, and Memphis’s Chief Operating Officer Doug McGowen – told the crowd that it is men who can and must stop the violence by helping their friends and family members stop. “Not just today,” McGowen said, “but for another 364 days.”
Organized by the Memphis Area Women’s Council, Memphis Says NO MORE, University of Memphis Title IX Prevention Center and SAPAC, the Walk also was supported by September of Service volunteers from Christian Brothers University who joined UofM student leaders in assisting Walkers with registration, t-shirts, signs and women’s shoes.
The UofM women’s basketball team and Memphis Police Department command staff joined the throng that roamed west to Highland, north to Poplar, east to DeLoach and back down Central to return to the Ramesses plaza.
2018 Walk A Mile – 260 Hit the Streets at U of M
A boisterous line of 237 students and community leaders bearing signs and chanting drew honks and cheers of support last week as they marched along Central, Highland and Poplar in the 8th Memphis Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.
Fathers brought sons. Mothers brought daughters. Professors, lawyers, police officers, business owners, social workers, college and high school students marched in the demonstration against rape, sexual assault and gender violence.
The 2018 march stepped off from the Ramesses II statue at the University of Memphis after a rally attend by about 260. It was organized by the Memphis Area Women’s Council, Memphis Says NO MORE, the Memphis Sexual Assault Kit Task Force and Splash Creative in partnership with the UofM Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Coalition, Student Government Association and Title IX Prevention Center.
Women’s Council executive director Deborah Clubb welcomed and thanked the throng. Nikkino Wesson and Courtney Paige Harrough from SAPAC described the importance of supporting survivors of gender violence and the workunderway on campus.
Kenneth Anderson, UofM director of institutional equity, Antonio Scott from SGA, City Councilmember Worth Morgan and Bridges teen leaders Mohamed Abdo and Devin Dearborn rallied the walkers before leading the way west on Central.
photography by Haley Graham
Walk A Mile Photo Archive
