Monday afternoon, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings reveals the line-up of speakers for Saturday’s DallasMenAgainstAbuse rally at City Hall Plaza. The mayor wants 10,000 men and boys to join the call to end violence against women.
In January, after seeing the number of domestic violence murders more than double in 2012, Mayor Rawlings took an unusual step to turn around that disturbing trend. He “called out the men”, as he says.
“This violence is our fault. It’s not the women’s fault," Rawlings said. "We have been the violent gender over the centuries and we must own up to it.”
The mayor subsequently called for thousands of men and boys to join him at a rally at City Hall. And he got a lot of immediate support from the likes of Cowboys legends Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and others. Rawlings says his line-up Saturday will include celebrity athletes, radio personalities, faith-based leaders and nationally recognized experts on domestic violence. And he says this sort of event is unique.
“Nobody as a country or as a city is organizing their men to make a difference like this,” Rawlings said.
He plans to ask each man and boy to make a promise to never hit a woman; speak out against abuse of women, and if you see that happening, do something to stop it.
The rally begins at 10am Saturday.
