On July 26 the first Groton City Summer Classic was kicked off with the sounds of squealing sneakers, basketballs relentlessly kissing the hot concrete, and the constant hum of inflatable moonwalks. The event featured three-on-three basketball tournaments, games for kids, arts and crafts, and an assortment of food and snacks.
Hundreds turned out, converging on Washington Park to enjoy the many games and activities available, and unlike so many of the other community events in New London County, the summer classic was free, courtesy of the area’s newest nonprofit organization, Promoting Peaceful Unity Inc.
The brainchild of Ledyard’s Darnell Williams and Ray Brown of Groton, Promoting Peaceful Unity was created to bring together people from all over southeastern Connecticut to have a fun time and foster unity among the region’s communities.
Williams, originally from New York, explained how and why he and Brown felt the need to create Promoting Peaceful Unity.
“Me and my partner, Ray Brown, we’ve been good friends since I’ve been in the Connecticut area,” Williams said. “He’s like a brother to me. He’s originally from D.C. and I’m from Queens, and growing up from those areas we would always see all kinds of basketball tournaments and things, but at the same time, there are a lot more hardships, too. When I was growing up my mom didn’t have a car, so for me to even just go play Little League, I either had to take the subway or my coach had to come get me.
“So if we’re able to bring everything into one spot and host a nice basketball tournament for the kids and adults and have a moonwalk for the kids to jump around in and some food and cotton candy and snow cones and some games and arts and crafts, it’s purely positive."
Williams eventually joined the military and found himself stationed in Groton and living in Ledyard. While a drastic difference from the fast pace of New York, Williams said he grew to appreciate what southeastern Connecticut offered, especially from an adult point of view. After he finished serving his term and following the birth of his first child, Williams chose to stay in Ledyard and give his children some of the opportunities he didn’t have growing up.
“Because you have to be a lot more careful in an area like where I grew up, you know, I wasn’t the type of kid that even knew how to be in the community,” Williams said. “In New York you grow up around some negative things sometimes, but around here you really don’t have to worry about that stuff too much. At the same time, it’s a lot easier for kids and even adults to get bored when there isn’t a whole lot going on in the town.
“I’ve been here for 10 years now, and I still meet people in town that I have never seen before. That’s why Ray and I really wanted to get this going. To bring people together and give them some fun and free things to do.”
So after a decade of life in southeastern Connecticut, Williams and Brown found themselves in a unique position to take some of the positive, fun, and exciting elements from their childhood and bring them to the region, where one of the biggest problems for many parents is keeping kids busy and staving off the inevitable summer boredom without breaking the bank.
Acknowledging the need for more positive, free events, Brown and Williams began brainstorming late last year and came up with an idea to start a basketball tournament. As the concept grew, however, the two decided that starting a nonprofit organization would be the best solution and allow them to host a variety of different events throughout the year, and thus, Promoting Peaceful Unity was born.
“Life in general is what brought us to start this organization and promoting peace and unity,” Brown explained. “There’s been a lot of hardships in both of our lives, and this is a positive thing that we’re doing. We’re trying to step forward in this neck of the woods, in New London County, to show that we are here to do something for these children.”
So far they are off to a good start, and Williams said he can only see things getting better as they learn from each event they host. The Groton City Summer Classic, for example, was scheduled to be a two-day event but was cut short by Sunday’s torrential rain and thunderstorms. While somewhat disappointed, Williams said that the inclement weather was probably more of a blessing than not. With more than three months of planning and preparation put into the event, Williams and Brown were hoping for twice the number of teams that ended up entering the basketball tournament.
The second day of the event has been rescheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16, so Williams and Brown have a few more weeks to get the word out and recruit more teams to sign up.
“Saturday was a great overall community turnout,” Williams said. “Everything was free except the basketball tournament, because there is a $2,000 top prize for the winning team, so we charged an entry fee for each team. As far as teams though, I wish we had more involvement. We actually had people calling us on Saturday night asking if we were going to be there on Sunday, but then of course we got washed out. But you know, maybe that was a good thing because...hopefully we get more teams to come out for it [Aug. 16].”
Williams added, “What will happen is we’ll have the winner from Saturday come up and face the winner from the group of new teams, so we’re hoping we get a good turnout.”
Even with their focus on the second half of the summer classic, Williams said he and Brown have already begun discussing what their next event might be, with their ideas including a bus trip to Six Flags, a dance competition, a community barbecue, and freestyle battles.
“There are a lot of things we can do to bring the community together,” Williams said. “A lot of communities do get together and do things like the Puerto Rican Day Parade up in Hartford. But the thing is, we need to get together and not have any of the violence involved, and I think this is a great area for that to happen.”
For more information or to enter a team into the basketball tournament, call 860-984-5573 or 860-501-7338; or send e-mail to dnycwilliams@yahoo.com, brownray92@yahoo.com, or makewayproductions@yahoo.com.