By Rhea Riley
April Harris, Director for Milwaukee’s Peace Through Pie, selling a Pie at the Peace for Pie event.
This year on the national holiday, Milwaukee was able to have their very own slice of “peace pie” at their first ever Peace through Pie event.
Peace Through Pie is a non-for-profit organization founded in 1995 by educator Luanne Stovall. Stovall, who was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of peace and nonviolence, decided to continue to share his legacy. She then began to share pies with family, friends and students on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In 2009, Stovall created the first Pie Social held at the Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church in Texas. Since then, the organization has worked nationally with various schools, organizations, faith groups and businesses to engage in Pie events and share Dr. King’s message through dialogue and food.
“I’m really excited to be bringing it to Milwaukee [because] I think it’ll be good for Milwaukeeans to just think about peace,” said April Harris director for Milwaukee Peace Through Pie. “No matter what side of the fence you are on or what your personal beliefs or preferences may be, we can still honor and respect each other.”
A table of Pies at the Peace Through Pie event at the United Methodist Church
in Greendale, WI.
The event was held at the United Methodist Church in Greendale. About 50 pies were donated for the event. Pies ranged in several varieties of flavors spanning from caramel apple to lemon meringue and even savory flavors like chicken and quiche. Some of the pie donations were made by members of the church while others were donated by local bakeries and restaurants, including Jonathan Dye from Mr. Dye’s pies, Honey Pie, Blue’s egg, and Bakers Square. The event, which lasted four hours, sold out of pies halfway through.
The proceeds from the event will be donated to the Sojourner Family Peace Center. The center is one of the largest domestic violence prevention and intervention service providers in the state. They provide care for victims suffering from domestic violence, along with trainings and teachings on handling domestic violence, recognizing domestic violence, and much more.
Proceeds from the Peace Through Pie event will be donated to the Sojourner Family Peace center.
“We are very fortunate, for this to be our first one,” said Harris. “We had a really good showing.”
Harris experienced her first Pie Social at a different facility years ago. She believed it would be a great event to bring to the Milwaukee area and specifically her church. Harris hopes that events like these can continue to instill positive and open dialogue between people in the community with different backgrounds. She even referenced Dr. King’s six principles of nonviolence, a point of conversation the organization encourages during their Pie Socials.
With this being the first Peace through Pie event in Milwaukee, Harris stated they wanted to stick to the traditional origins and hold the event on the holiday. However, Peace Through Pie can be held at any time of year. According to Harris, the church hopes to have another Peace through Pie event before the year is over.
To learn more about Peace Through Pie and how you can be involved you can visit their website: https://www.peacethroughpie.org