This weekend, the Roseland Ceasefire Project is holding its 2nd Annual Anti-Violence Basketball Tournament, Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Pullman Community Center, 10355 S. Woodlawn Avenue. The next day, a gospel showcase will highlight national and local performers at St. Mark M.B. Church, 14618 Lincoln Avenue, Harvey, Ill.
The Calumet Heights based organization is creating more supervised activities for young people to take part that brings multiple generations together. This weekend’s event is a way to reach out to residents of all ages to make them aware of the services it provides.
Roseland Ceasefire is seeing the lowest number of murders in years in the communities of Roseland, Pullman and West Pullman. For 20 years the anti-violence organization has played a large role in interrupting violence, providing jobs and offering social services to residents proactively in response to gun violence.
As a result of President Donald Trump’s cuts for gun violence prevention programs, Roseland Ceasefire has decreased its workforce by half. Despite fewer workers, Bob Jackson, president & CEO of Roseland Ceasefire believes the number of shootings and murders will remain low throughout the summer.
“We are being very strategic about how we use our workers. We’re covering shifts differently and we’re working as one team,” explains Jackson. “Our program managers, supervisors, case managers and outreach workers are all working as one team to cover the city and south suburban communities where Roseland Ceasefire is present.”
The high school teams confirmed for the basketball tournament are: Thornridge High School, Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Corliss High School, Thornton Fractional North High School and other teams representing grade school, youth and adult divisions. The gospel performers are: Six-time Stellar Award-winning and Grammy nominated artist VaShawn Mitchell; Arthur Sutton & the Gift of Praise; Pastor DeRail Smith & the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir; and the Bethlehem Temple Baptist Church Choir.
Roseland Ceasefire was founded in 2006 as part of the organization started by Dr. Gary Slutkin at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The public health model is to treat gun violence as an epidemic. Over the years the theory of treating gun violence as a major public health crisis has gained increasing acceptance in the United States.
In addition to Chicago, the South Side organization covers Harvey, Markham, Ford Heights, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Riverdale and Park Forest.
For ticket information, call 708-577-4533 or email info@roselandceasefire.com.
