04/25/2026
Thank you to every single walker who showed up this morning. You didn’t have to come. But you did. That’s a movement.
Thank you to our organizers — the ones who made phone calls, printed flyers, secured permits, and lost sleep so this could happen.
Thank you to our sponsors — local businesses and donors who gave water, snacks, teal ribbons, and resources.
Thank you to our volunteers — the ones who set up tents, handed out ponchos, held signs, and will clean up after we leave. You are the engine.
And thank you to every survivor. Whether you’ve spoken your truth or you’re still finding the words — this walk is for you.
Here are some statistics that was meant to be part of my speech.
The World Health Organization says: 1 in 3 women worldwide — 840 million people — have experienced physical or s*xual violence. 316 million women faced violence from a partner in just one year. 263 million were hurt by someone outside their relationship.
Those aren’t numbers. Those are mothers, sisters, neighbors.
In the United States: 443,635 people (age 12 and up) experience s*xual violence every year. Nearly 1 in 5 women. One in 38 men. And 60% of assaults never get reported.
NYC, 2025: 2,049 reported r**es — up 16% from 2024.
Brooklyn: R**e reports up 123% in early 2025.
Brooklyn North — our streets — non-r**e s*x crimes soared over 80%. R**e cases in our precinct jumped 150% in one month.
And those are just the reported ones.
Three stories from blocks you walk
The 12-year-old of East Williamsburg. Walking home from a friend’s house. Homework in her backpack. A 27-year-old followed her into her building lobby, grabbed her, forced her up the stairwell. He had done this before. He thought she’d be silent. She wasn’t. She told. He was arrested.
Predators bet on silence. Survivors win with noise.
The jogger at Shirley Chisholm Park. Fifty-one years old. Afternoon jog. A man on a bike threw her to the dirt, pulled a knife. She ripped off his mask and screamed until a stranger on a motorcycle heard her. He scared the attacker away.
One scream can change everything. One witness can save a life.
The daycare predator. A teacher named Devonte Brown. For over a year, he abused four little girls — ages 5, 5, 6, and 9. He told them, “If you tell, your favorite teacher will lose their job.” It took months before those tiny giants whispered the truth to their parents.
Teach your children: no secret is worth keeping if it hurts them.
From Mrs. Taylor “Teach Me to Tell” to our “No Means No”
