Marilyn WashingtonHarris

I am a long time resident of Oakland,California and a leading activist in the effort to eradicate and prevent violence against youth.

On August 4,2000, my son Khadafy Washington was shot and killed while riding his bicycle. He was only 18 years old. Khadafy had graduated two months earlier in West Oakland. I turned my shock and grief into determination to call a halt to the cycle of violence. My effort to find my son's killer and stop the violence in Oakland evolved into the Khadafy Washington Foundation for Nonviolence, Inc., which was incorporated as a non profit organization in March of 2002. Today the foundation supports many efforts throughout the year designed to prevent violence and support Oakland families who have lost a love one to homicide.

Since April of 2007, as part of the Khadafy Washington Project at Youth Alive! and in partnership with Catholic Charities of the East Bay, I have been a first responder to scenes of homicides and in the homes of families and friends who have lost loved ones to violence as part of the Oakland Crisis Response and Support Network.