PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 23, 2025!
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"If you want to understand what real public safety looks like—listen here. These stories are sacred. Born of pain, purpose, and persistence, they echo from the frontlines of Louisville and ripple out to cities everywhere.
These peacekeepers are not statistics or slogans—they’re healers, fighters, and architects of a safer world. They do the work few can see, rooted in relationship, led by love, and driven by truth. I’ve helped shape this field nationally, and I’ve walked beside many of these leaders.
This book is a mirror and a map. Read it—and remember who public safety is really for." —Dr. Monique Williams, CEO, Cure Violence Global
This project is a partnership between the Louisville Story Program and Cities United designed to tell the stories of the Peace-seekers and the Peacekeepers --- the people in our community most impacted by community violence and those most involved in Louisville’s peacekeeping efforts.
Guided by No More Red Dots’ expertise, passion, and proximity to the work, we prioritized the voices of the peacekeepers building trusted relationships with those most impacted by community violence and delivering solutions to the national public health crisis of gun violence.
There has never been a book that so richly documents this heroic work that is deeply grounded in love, relationships, and collective effort.
Authors:
- Deborah Barnes-Byers
- Ravon Churchill
- Beverly Drake
- Kenneth Forbes
- Xavier Hall
- Kiara James
- Norman Martin
- Kimberly Moore
- Marcus Poyntz
- DeShondre' Watters
- Sarai "Blue" Wigginton
- Dr. Eddie Woods
- Anthony Smith, Introduction