MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In spite of the rain, organizers for Ride of Tears held a citywide emergency ride Sunday afternoon.
Any time a child has lost their life to gun violence, the organization wants to ensure the community that they aren't alone in their fight to stop it.
"People just go around leaving guns unattended in the house with children, knowing children are curious," grieving mom Denisha Houston said. "It's time for the city to step up and come together, especially about these kids, that have nothing to do at all with this gang-related stuff ... It's not fair to them, they barely can go somewhere and have fun. Everywhere you go, it's a shooting going on, it's something going on. It's got to change. It's got to stop."
The Ride of Tears remembers the victims of violence in Memphis. It was the first time the ride featured a child-sized hearse to represent the kids the community has lost.
"Today is the first day that we ever brought the children hearse out for the ride to show our communities this is what we're doing — killing one another and taking the lives of our babies for no apparent reason at all," organizer Mary Trice said. "It's senseless killing and we're asking you to take a look at what's in our trunk and change your mind before you pull a trigger."
About a dozen cars braved the weather for their procession through Hickory Hill.