FORDYCE, Ark. – The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission is bringing a message of nonviolence and empowerment to students in Fordyce.

The group is holding a Nonviolence Youth Summit Assembly Thursday at Fordyce High School starting at 1:30 p.m. The event will spotlight the importance of conflict resolution and empower youth to report incidents of bullying and violence to the authorities.

Actor and entrepreneur Percy “Romeo” Miller will be a special guest speaker at the event, and he will be joined by North Little Rock Police Department Officer Tommy Norman. FOX 16 News anchor Kevin Kelly will also share his Step Up, Stop Bullying campaign with the students.

The event is part of a new effort by the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, along with the Victory Over Violence campaign from KARK and FOX 16, to tackle issues of youth violence in the state.

Early next month, the group will hold the 2022 Nonviolence Youth Summit at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, where more than 2,000 young people are expected.

This presentation comes on the heels of unrest at the school after two students were suspended after a video emerged showing a fight between the two which many other students said was instigated by continued bullying by one of the students.

A live stream of the event from Fordyce will be available to view in the video player at the top of this page.