A Mother's Perspective of Losing Her Own Child: Fighting to Save Lives in the Community
Rosilyn Temple |
TEDxUMKC
• March 2019
Rosilyn Temple became an activist for nonviolence in Kansas City after she found her 26-year-old son Antonio “Pee Wee” Thompson murdered in his apartment in 2011. Through her grief, she knew that there would have to be a place in this world where she could stand in the gap for her child. Over the past five years, Rosilyn has visited approximately 400 homicide scenes. Rosilyn has educated and inspired thousands of Kansas Citians through numerous media interviews and speaking engagements at churches, schools, and prisons. She has touched the lives of hundreds of at-risk students and youth and thousands of inmates and ex-offenders. She serves on the Kansas City Mayor’s Anti-Violence Task Force and received the 2015 KC Division FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says that "Rosilyn is a great partner in this community. I am grateful for her and KC Mothers in Charge. I have confidence in her ability to give comfort and aid.”