Fort Worth, Eastern Hills, and Dunbar High School fans traded their school colors for white, standing together to speak out against gun violence on Saturday. NBC 5’s Allie Spillyards has more on their message and the stories driving the call for change.
Amid an afternoon of cross-town rivalries, basketball teams from Eastern Hills High School and Dunbar High School paused to come together.
Buoyed by city leaders, players, coaches, and fans kicked off Saturday’s men’s varsity game by taking a stand against gun violence.
Saturday’s “white out against violence” was the brainchild of Eastern Hills Head Basketball Coach Melvin Miller.
“There’s not a day go by that we don’t think about things like this. I think maybe every year I’ve been in education, we’ve had to deal with this,” said Miller.
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Just before the new year, he said his world was rocked when former player Jordan Miles was killed in a drive-by on San Rose Drive.
Miller said he first met Miles in middle school and credited him with some of the team’s success during his years with Eastern Hills.
Miles was just 20 years old.
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It’s one of countless tragedies that have targeted youth in Fort Worth, with Saturday’s event falling just days after the first anniversary of a shooting in a Whataburger parking lot that killed a 16-year-old Paschal High School student and injured another teen.
“Whether it’s mentorship, whether it’s church, whether it’s school counselors, we just want them to know there are resources out there for you. Rather than picking up a gun, there are lot of other things you can do,” said Miller.
It’s a message that’s important for families, too.
As a biological grandparent to one of the team’s players and an honorary one to several more, Stellena Giddings said shootings remain a constant fear.
“It’s time for us to say hey, we don’t want to put up with this anymore,” she said.
Her family was among those hoping that Saturday’s show of solidarity would be just one sign of support that reminds teens they’re not alone.
“When they’re looking around to see all of these people come out there here to support them, watch them play a basketball game, and support them with love, then that gives a different type of attitude, a different type of pride in yourself, it’s important,” said Giddings son-in-law Kelton Russell.
