Anti-Violence Leaders From Across County Expected For Conference

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Father's Day Rally Committee is hosting a three-day conference later this month that is expected to draw anti-violence leaders from all over the country.

"Violence in America is going down, but violence in Black America is going up," says Bilal Qayyum, president of The Father's Day Rally Committee here in Philadelphia.

He says his group issued a national call to action to focus on the issue of black on black crime.

"If you look at the Republican Convention and the Democratic Convention, neither one of them address the whole issue about violence so we believe it's important to address it," Oayyum explains.

Qayyum says anti-violence leaders will attend sessions on the connection between violence and economic development, how to deal with trauma from violence and much more. He says the ultimate goal is to share information and make connections that can help cities across the country better deal with violence.

"We hope to create a movement across the nation about blacks killing blacks," Oayyum says.

The conference kicks off at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on October 26th. For more information, visit fdrc.net.