BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Longtime community activist Bobby Holley Monday began crawling from Battle Creek to Kalamazoo to call for an end to gun violence.
The 76-year-old set out on the 23-mile trek along wet and icy roads with pads strapped to his hands and knees, saying he’s crawling for a cause, telling WOOD-TV 8, “If I walked, that wouldn’t get no attention. (Instead) I’m a person crawling, begging on his hands and knees to stop the violence.”
Holley says he had a nephew die in 1987 from gun violence, and the case was never solved.
State lawmakers and other community supporters came out for Holley’s final sendoff Monday at the Urbandale Plaza parking lot off West Michigan Avenue.
![](https://media.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2491/files/2022/02/bobby-holley3-300x225.jpg)
Activist Bobby Holley receives a proclamation before beginning his crawl from Battle Creek to Kalamazoo Feb. 21, 2022 (photo courtesy of WOOD-TV 8)
Holley said it will take at least a couple days before he arrives at Bronson Park in Kalamazoo. Once across the finish line, he plans to hold a rally against gun violence at the park, where he’ll read proclamations given to him on behalf of state lawmakers.