BOSTON, Feb. 20, 2014—Kids and teens across Boston and Suffolk County came together with prosecutors, victim advocates, and police officers who serve their communities today at District Attorney Dan Conley’s sixth annual Basketball for Peace tournament in Dorchester.

“So many disputes start over minor differences,” Conley said to about 100 youngsters from community youth groups based in Boston and Revere. “Fights break out over what neighborhood someone’s from or who their friends are. But events like this show us that we’re much more alike than different. And after today, if you see a stranger on the bus or the train, maybe you’ll recognize him as someone from your team. Maybe he passed you the ball. Maybe he helped you up when you fell. Or maybe he even blocked your shot. But you’ve got something in common with him that you didn’t have before. That makes both your worlds a little bigger and a little friendlier.”

Basketball for Peace 2014 (Photo: Jake Wark)

Conley organized the annual games to supplement the Soccer for Peace tournament he’s hosted each summer since taking office. The goal is to bring kids together with each other and with the law enforcement professionals who protect them, building bridges between individuals and forging bonds with police and prosecutors. Conley’s assistant district attorneys, victim advocates, civilian investigators, and support staff all turned out in force to referee, distribute uniforms, serve food, and otherwise assist in the games.

The youngsters represented teams from the Blackstone Community Center, the Bridging the Gap program, Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, the Teen Center at St. Peter’s, the Quincy Geneva Housing Corporation, and the Revere Police Activities League. Conley’s game plan had the teams playing against each other for the first five games, then mixing things up for a second set of five games by creating new teams whose players didn’t know one another.

“It’s a way of creating trust and friendship with other kids and learning that we’re all much more alike than different,” Conley said.

Conley’s special guest was Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross, who spoke inspirationally of his youth in Boston and his rise through the ranks to become the first African-American man to hold the highest uniformed position in the nation’s first police department. Many other members of the Boston Police Department were on hand as well, as were representatives of Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, the Revere Police Department, the Boston Celtics, and New Balance. The event was hosted by the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, located on Dudley Street near Upham’s Corner.

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