Rally against youth violence held across country ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Al Sharpton and company gathered in Atlanta to put their collective foot down against youth violence. It was part of a national effort to stir up parents and get them more involved in their children's lives.

It was a wet and chilly afternoon so Reverend Sharpton made his comments brief and to the point.

SHARPTON: We want to start with groups all over the country to build up grassroots. If we can get a couple hundred in 28 cities, we can build this into a national movement.

About 50 showed up for a slate of speakers that included victims of gun violence, church leaders, and community activists.

Fulton County rep Mable Thomas was there and spoke of her outrage and sense of urgency.

THOMAS: Some people say when the situation is bad, if it's a lemon, lets make lemonade. Well, English Avenue is still waiting for the lemondade. We've still got crack houses, we've still got drug infestations, we've still got black on black killing. The key word in this is action.

Similar rallies were held in cities across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

For WABE, I'm Jonathan Shapiro. © Copyright 2012, WABE