PRESS RELEASE
June 22, 2023
Founder and Executive Director of Violence Interrupters Inc. Is Recognize for Saving Hundreds of Lives in Chicago and Beyond
CHICAGO – For his leadership and innovative crime prevention strategies, which have saved hundreds of lives over a 19-year period, Tio “Mr. Ceasefire,” Hardiman’s portfolio of work has given him an audience with a U.S. President, A First Lady of the U.S., a queen from the Middle East and a prime minister from Great Britian.
Monday night, Hardiman, the founder and executive director of Violence Interrupters Inc., was in the company of some of the most powerful business, community and political leaders in the Chicago area, who gathered for the Juneteenth Gala and Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Celebration hosted by the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce.
During that event at the Doubletree Hilton in Alsip, Congressman Danny Davis (IL -District 7) presented Hardiman with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his body of work that organizers said has reduced violence in Chicago and around the state.
“Tio did not fall out of a Craker Jack Box,” said Congressman Davis, noting he once lived next to Hardiman who received a degree in public health from the University of Illinois, which he described as one of the best public health schools in the nation. “He is known in the streets. He is known for working with individuals some of us might have a difficult time getting to know.”
Congressman Davis also highlighted Hardiman work as radio broadcaster and an announcer, who he said does those jobs extremely well, but the Congressman stressed that Hardiman is a man of passion.
“He believes,” Congressman Davis said, “change can take place, that change can occur, that change can occur with young people who are sometimes misguided, young people who sometimes feel they are left alone, and young people who feel older people don’t understand them, so on behalf of those who really understand the work that you do, and those who understand the value that you are to society, and the leadership that you provide, I am just proud to present to you this Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Upon receiving the award, Hardiman said, “This is a great recognition. It is an honor.”
“I was born a revolutionary,” he said. “There is nothing I can do to get around that despite my education. I am simply following in the footsteps of some of our forefathers who fought during the Civil Rights era and the Black Power era.”
Hardiman founded Violence Interrupters in 2004. But his calling to prevent violence by interceding into conflicts began when he was a teen growing up in the crime plagued Herny Horner Homes and Avalon Park neighborhood.
“I just saw so many of my friends going to jail, so many guys were shot and killed over the years,” said Hardiman, who chose violence prevention over an entertainment career with a neighborhood group, The Disappointments. “I saw I had a way with my friends and comrades and some of the guys would listen to me. I was a big brother to a lot of brothers on the street and for some reason they respected my word, and I was able to bring people to the table way before this peace intervention strategy was broadly accepted.”
After receiving a degree and entering the public health arena profession, he coined the phrase “Violent Interrupters.”
“That just made the work I had been doing more of a public health technical term,” Hardiman said. “We interrupted violence on the front end, and we helped the participants become productive members of society.”
His work became the focus of an Emmy Award-Winning PBS documentary, “The Interrupters,” and organizations around the nation requested his appearance. He appeared before a U.S. President Bill Clinton, First Lady Laura Bush, Prime Minister Teresa May and Queen Noor from Jordan.
When asked how he would address the surging gun violence around the nation in cities like Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, he said leaders should work with Violence Interrupters.’
“If we really want to stop the killings, we have to go corner by corner and find out why,” said Hardiman, noting he has mediated about 1,200 conflicts. “We have to hire those shooters. We have to put them to work. If you do not have a relationship with them, do not play with them. I do not care what program you have. If you do not have a personal relationship, they are not going to deal with you.”
Hardiman gave the audience a hint of the next move.
“I am going to put more focus on reparations,” he said. “And I am going for the Noble Peace Prize.”
For the meantime, Hardiman said, “Let’s do the job for our people and make Chicago safe.”
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About Tio Hardiman: Dubbed “Mr. Ceasefire,” Tio Hardiman created the award-winning CeaseFire initiative in 2004, and has been dedicated to combating problems of violence and corruption in the nation’s third largest city. Hardiman is also the creator of the critically acclaimed documentary, The Interrupters (2011), and decided to produce a second film called The Chicago Way in 2017 as pushback against Chicago’s political corruption, police brutality, and the continued gun violence. Using his platform, Hardiman launched himself in the 2018 Gubernatorial race against Democrat powerhouses like JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. He ran his campaign on the principles of combating violence, racism, and the top-down corruption that has been taking place for decades in Illinois. On April 26, 2020, Mr. Hardiman launched the “Tio Mr. Ceasefire Hardiman Show on WVON 1690 AM in Chicago, which airs on Sundays between 6 AM and 7 AM. For additional information on Tio Hardiman and Violence Interrupters, visit https://www.violenceinterrupters.org/. To schedule an interview with Mr. Hardiman, contact Jerry Thomas at (312) 804-7999, or jerry@jerrythomaspr.com.
PRESS RELEASE
Violence Interrupters Inc. Call for Immediate Training for Police to Reduce Killings of Civilians
Press Conference Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 9:30 AM, Outside Chicago Police Headquarters
CHICAGO – In the wake of Tyre Nichols and more recently, Anthony Lowe, a double amputee from Huntington Park, CA, who was killed by police last week, Violence Interrupters Inc. will hold a press conference on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 9:30 AM, outside the Chicago Police Department (CPD) at 3510 S. Michigan Ave.
During the press conference, the organization will call on the CPD and law enforcement departments across the nation to immediately hold training sessions to reduce the surge in aggressive and excessive force by authorities. Tio Hardiman, founder and executive director of the national renown organization, said America’s police officers need training that addresses, de- escalation, conflict resolution, implicit bias and other sensitivities that will reduce the number of Blacks, Hispanics, and other people of color killed by authorities.
“We are not condemning authorities, but something must be done to reverse this trend,” Hardiman said. “Tyre Nichols’ death could have been spared. Anthony Lowe never stood a chance. Where could he run or flee without his wheelchair? He posed no threat. Our officers need training because they must know what to do and how to call for support before they make a bad and deadly decision. We must address this problem immediately because we cannot afford for another civilian to be killed.”
Nichols, 29, was brutally beaten by several Memphis police during a routine traffic stop on January 7. He died three days later. His death provoked a national outcry against aggressive force by police. That outrage led to swift charges against the officers, the disbanding of the unit created to address street crimes and a call for major policy changes. Nichols’ funeral services were covered live by some media organizations.
Lowe, who lost both of his legs last year and had not received prosthetics, was wielding a knife, when authorities arrived on the scene in the afternoon on January 26 responding to a report of a man being stabbed by a man in a wheelchair. When Lowe ignored their commands, he shot by a stun guns. When he continued to ignore them, police fired their guns, hitting him with 10 bullets. He died at the scene.10 times by and 10 bullets. Family and the community say the shooting was unjustified because his mobility was limited without a wheelchair.
Last year, a New York Times investigation looked at 400 police killings of unarmed motorists of a five- year period. The report revealed that in many cases the officers responded with outside aggression to disrespect or disobedience – a driver talking back, revving an engine, or refusing to get out of a car.
According to the Washington Post, which has been tracking civilians killed by police since 2015, an average of 1,000 people is killed by police very year.
In Illinois, an average of 10 people is killed a year.
Hardiman, whose organizations have conducted training sessions across the nation in cities such as New York, Washington, Charleston and Kenosha, said he has seen evidence that such training works.
“Police and community relations have improved in those areas,” he said.
About Tio Hardiman: Dubbed “Mr. Ceasefire,” Tio Hardiman created the award-winning CeaseFire initiative in 2004, and has been dedicated to combating problems of violence and corruption in the nation’s third largest city. Hardiman is also the creator of the critically acclaimed documentary, The Interrupters (2011), and decided to produce a second film called The Chicago Way in 2017 as pushback against Chicago’s political corruption, police brutality, and the continued gun violence. Using his platform, Hardiman launched himself in the 2018 Gubernatorial race against Democrat powerhouses like JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. He ran his campaign on the principles of combating violence, racism, and the top-down corruption that has been taking place for decades in Illinois. On April 26, 2020, Mr. Hardiman launched the “Tio Mr. Ceasefire Hardiman Show on WVON 1690 AM in Chicago, which airs on Sundays between 6 AM and 7 AM. For additional information on Tio Hardiman and Violence Interrupters, visit https://www.violenceinterrupters.org/. To schedule an interview with Mr. Hardiman, contact Jerry Thomas at (312) 804-7999, or jerry@jerrythomaspr.com.
PRESS RELEASE
Tio Hardiman Joins South Austin Block Club for Peace Circle Gathering
This was the first of many peace circle gatherings planned for Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods
(Chicago, Ill.) — Tio “Mr. CeaseFire” Hardiman held a peace circle gathering today in Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood. The well-attended peace circle gathering brought together many community members, block club presidents, and 29th Ward Alderman Chris Taliaferro. They discussed the various issues faced by many Chicago communities, tactics that have worked to reduce violent crime on their blocks, and ways to help Chiacgo’s troubled youth.
According to event organizer and notable nonviolence expert Tio Hardiman, this is the first of many peace circle gatherings planned for Chicago over what will undoubtedly be a violent summer. “We want everybody in Chicago to know that even though we’ve had a very violent Memorial Day weekend, we are here promoting peace in Chicago’s South Austin community. We’ve been working here in the South Austin community for about a year and a half now and things are going pretty good. We had some reductions in violence back in 2022 and plan to keep the trend going.”
Alderman Taliaferro said, “As we celebrate Memorial Day and we recognize those who have sacrificed their lives so we that can be in a county that allows us to express our freedoms, in a county that allows us to stand here on this day, as residents, to say that we are fighting violence in the city of Chicago. We are fighting violence in the streets of Austin. And I want to particularly thank Tio Hardiman and all the stakeholders here for coming out today to express on this Memorial Day that they have this community on their shoulders…We have seen over a 48 percent reduction in violent crimes, shootings, and murders in the South Austin community, and that’s because of our fine police, and it’s also because of our fine residents who come out day in and day out to share their concerns with the community.
With Memorial Day being Chicago’s unofficial kickoff to summer, violence remains a top concern for those living in the communities that are plagued by violence. Hardiman plans to hold many more peace circle gatherings throughout Chicago’s most violent communities.
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About Tio Hardiman
Tio Hardiman is a radio personality and nonviolence activist in Chicago, Illinois. In 2018, Hardiman ran in the Democratic Primary Election for Illinois Governor. His nonprofit organization, Violence Interrupters, focuses on high level gang mediation and stopping retaliations. His radio show, the Tio Mr. CeaseFire Hardiman Show, can be heard on Sunday mornings from 6 am to 7 am on 1690 WVON.
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