Wake Up Rise Up International Day of Peace

Conflict. It’s becoming a way of life. Social Media stalking, rudeness, obnoxious behavior, and harassment. People flying apart and having temper tantrums, throwing things, and breaking them. Shootings, beatings, and other uncivilized acts between supposedly the highest form of life on this planet. Why?

Yet, people want to embrace peace. Are you willing to turn away from moments where you or others engage in abusive behavior? Are you willing to change you to change all, to step up to the plate and say, “I’m going to make a difference today in somebody’s life!” Three people from Pennsylvania have made the choice to say, “Today, I will make a difference.” Those people are Douglas Payne, Carman Bryant and Ali Hackett.

Their stories are varied but, their purpose is similar. Each of them are part of the music industry. Each of them has a loud voice locally or so they thought. The Concept Musicians communicate through music. They decide to have a concert that supports peace in Philadelphia. Good Answer! Many people hear about it in Philadelphia and want to join in. Then, people in New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas, The United Kingdom, and Italy hear about it and want in! Then, the United Nations says, “Good Answer!”

The Wake Up / Rise Up Live4Peace Global Concert is born. It started with a song that Douglas Payne wrote on a WaWa Napkin while driving using a sharpie pen. Get the point? Peace started with a song, with music. People heard the song and told Doug that his message must be heard.

Doug has a huge background in music, graduating from the high school that Fame was based on. He worked with TSOP, Sister Sledge, The Coasters and more. Carman’s background is with the SOS band and many others in Motown. Her and Doug have known each other for a long time and decided to build a team, which included gun attack survivor Ali Hackett and Shaun Tonks on IT. People were recruited from around the world, some 300 acts and over 3000 people to put together a video, 24 hours long, showing music, people being happy, talking about peace, focusing on containing ongoing violence. People came in from Australia through the United States and Canada, into the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and into Africa. From all walks of life, we said in once voice, WE CHOOSE PEACE!

On September 21, a day the United Nations calls world Peace Day, WURU was slated to broadcast with a full endorsement from the United Nations. One week prior to the event, an illness hospitalized one of the critical people who was responsible for the broadcast. Doug and Carman frantically searched for a replacement. Shaun Tonks stepped up to finish the video file. A replacement was found at the 11th hour and the event make it on the air on time.

The event re-aired on Oct 10. Total viewers… 4.3 Million. It’s a start... PEACE!