‘Stop the Killing’ basketball tournament spreads message of peace in Harlem

“Stop the violence. Stop the killing. That’s the message,” said Rondo Bonilla as he emceed the Stop the Killing basketball tournament held this past Saturday at Fred Samuel playground in Harlem.

“Shootings are down in New York City, but the shooters are getting younger, and we have to be able to make sure that we remember that this is the reason why we came together,” he added. 

This year marked the sixth iteration of the Stop the Killing tournament, which was created by Aaliyah Guillory-Nickens, founder of the youth-focused organization More Than A Statistic. 

Guillory-Nickens, 23, said the idea for the tournament emerged after she organized a rally in 2020 in response to the shooting of a one-year-old in the city that summer.

“A lot of the rhetoric on the news was about, we have to get these youth and the guns out the streets and basically lock them up. And I wanted to combat that narrative by having a rally with young people to come out and speak their piece about what they actually need, rather than just cops and incarceration,” she said. 

 But when turnout was lower than expected, she decided to change tack.

“Everybody loves watching basketball, and being from Harlem, you know Harlem is historical for basketball. So that’s why I chose it. It’s a great way to bring people together,” she explained. 

Bronx native David Honore came out to play in the tournament after hearing about it from a friend.

“Growing up, my older sister was a victim [of] gun violence, and my older cousin as well, my brother-in-law. I lost some people to gun violence… I feel like this should just stop,” he said. 

Part of the solution, Guillory-Nickens believes, is community violence intervention. More Than A Statistic partnered with SAVE East Harlem and Save Our Streets Bronx, two violence prevention organizations that make up the city’s Crisis Management System. Their staff served as a safety team for the event and spread awareness about their work.

Marisol Rivera, program manager of community response at Save Our Streets Bronx, said that sporting events like these help keep youth engaged and out of trouble.

“We need more resources, more events like this because… when [youth] got something to do, whether it’s sports, whether it’s a job, that will keep them off the streets,” she said.

Basketball wasn’t the only activity on offer. Attendees also had the opportunity to get their hair braided free of charge, courtesy of Shataya Scott, founder of the organization Braids 4 Grades.

She was one of four residents recognized for their work with City Council citations, presented by Harlem City Councilmember Yusef Salaam. 

“When you see things like this happening in our community, people being uplifted, it says there’s hope. And that’s what we need to believe in,” Salaam said.