May 5, 2005 – Many parents who have lost a child to violence might resort to violence themselves. Others might go into a shell of grief and sorrow. Not so Celia and James Carroll, whose son Jason died on May 23, 2000, the victim of gun violence. The Carrolls, with Celia in the lead, have vowed to make the loss of their son meaningful in the wider community.
Months after Jason was killed, Celia Carroll started a chapter of Mothers Against Guns (MAG) in the Virgin Islands.
Now, thanks to James and Celia's efforts, May 23, 2004, has been proclaimed by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull as Jason Carroll Memorial Day and Mothers Against Guns Day. On that Sunday there will be a two-mile run against violence to honor Jason and to provide meaningful support for someone else's child.
Funds raised through sponsorships of The Run to Stop Violence and pledges to the runners will be used to establish a scholarship in memory of Jason Carroll for a local young person to attend the University of the Virgin Islands.
"Too many parents are burying their children," Celia Carroll said on Wednesday morning. "It is time for healing."
But she knows it will take the entire community to turn the violence to love. "We need to face the problem first," she said. "Guns are out of control here."
Jason was gunned down at 1:30 p.m. on a busy downtown street in front of numerous people over an incident that had occurred a year earlier. He died almost instantly at the scene. His killer, then-24-year-old DeShaune Harrigan, was sentenced in October 2002 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
At the time of his death, Jason had just completed his first year of studies at UVI.
"UVI did well by Jason," Jim Carroll said on Wednesday, and that is why the scholarship will be for a student to attend UVI.
Young people who sign up for The Run to Stop Violence will be required to sign a pledge against violence, and participants of all ages will be asked to commit themselves to changing the climate of violence in the community, according to a release from the local MAG chapter.
The pledge reads: "I will never bring a gun to school; I will never use a gun to settle a dispute; I will use my influence with my friends to keep them from using guns to settle disputes. My individual choices and actions, when multiplied by those of young people throughout the country, will make the world a safer place. Together, by honoring this pledge, I and other young people of society can reverse the gun violence, and make the world a safer place."
The school that has the most students take part in the run will receive a trophy.
The proclamation signed by both Turnbull and Lt. Gov. Vargrave Richards calls upon community members and groups to "join with me in observance of this occasion and to participate in the activities scheduled for this day."
Some of those community members already have come forward with "substantial" contributions to the Jason Carroll scholarship fund, according to James Carroll, who is an assistant U.S. attorney. So far, he said, contributions have been pledged by the law firms of Joel H. Holt; Dudley Topper and Feuerzeig; Marjorie Rawls Roberts; and Dudley Clark & Chan.
The run will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Coast Guard dock on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. It will proceed through Frenchtown to Addelita Cancryn Junior High School and then return to the Coast Guard dock. Participants can pre-register at Silk Greenery in Fort Mylner and the Caribbean Surf Shop in Havensight Mall; the entry fees are $8 for adults and $3 for young people.
Celia Carroll said all of the local schools have been notified of the run, and she is hoping for a large turnout.
The Carrolls said everyone is welcome to contribute to the scholarship fund.
The national Mother Against Guns organization celebrated its 10-year anniversary in March. The not-for-profit, non-partisan group was founded by Liz Bishop-Goldsmith in 1994 after she went through the experience of writing an obituary for her godson, who had been killed in gun violence at the age of 27.
The MAG Web site states: "Our goal is not to ban guns, but rather to prevent gun violence by lobbying our elected officials to pass common-sense legislation that will make it difficult, if not impossible, for our youth and criminals to commit these brutal and cruel acts. "
According to 1997 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun homicides were the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. And they were the fourth leading cause of death for youngsters 10 to 14 years of age.
Celia Carroll hopes the May 23 event will focus attention on the problem of gun violence in the community. "We cannot continue to settle disputes by taking a life," she said.
For more information on the local chapter of MAG, the Jason Carroll scholarship fund, The Run to Stop Violence and/or the observance of Jason Carroll Memorial Day, send an e-mail to Celia Carroll, or call 775-9337.
