SAGINAW, MI — Sparkle Roby once had to turn herself in to police custody after a warrant for her arrest was issued for witness intimidation. The experience motivated her to take her life in a more positive direction.
Now she wants others to do the same.
After a violent few weeks in Saginaw where multiple shootings and two homicides occurred, Roby said she felt it was time for her to do something to get her community’s attention and hopefully curb future violence.
One incident occurred near Roby’s backyard. A man was found shot to death on the playground of the former Heavenrich Elementary School.
On Saturday, June 1, Roby encourages community members to meet her at 12:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the former Church’s Chicken on East Genesee and Remington for an anti-violence march.
The Take a Step Walk will start in the parking lot and end at East Genesee and Janes Street.
“If we can get 10 people out there, I’ll be happy with that,” Roby said.
Roby, 35, has been affected by the violence in Saginaw herself.
In 2005, her best friend Brandy Boose, 20, was killed in a drive-by shooting as she slept in the bed with her infant.
Roby’s sister Tekisha R. Curry, a 26-year-old mother of five children, was fatally shot during a late-night birthday bash in 2007.
Her husband was shot inside of their home in 2012.
In 2015, Roby found herself in trouble for witness intimidation for twice threatening a female who was a witness against her brother, Brandon Sims, who is serving 26-50 years in prison for the shooting death of Keyonus Mobley.
“When I was put in that situation, I had never been in that situation, and I learned that I never wanted to be in that situation again,” Roby said. “I was able to grow and learn from the experience.”
Roby said that during her troubled times she had time to reflect on her life and began attending church. She is a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
In 2018, she regained custody of her sons, who had been removed from her home in 2010. They also became motivation for her.
“I learned to use my time more wisely and started doing more positive things and ever since then things have been going more positively for me,” Roby said.
Roby, who earned a pharmacy technician certification, also operates Roby Tax Services and says she earns enough money to make a living.
Tamika Hart, who also is helping organize the march, said she believes fatherless households are a root cause of most of the city’s violence problems.
“Fathers are so important right now,” Hart said. “When you see these kids getting in trouble, nine times out of 10 their fathers are not in the home."
Hart said she has a son who is currently in the corrections system and believes his trouble began when his father left.
Both women hope to see community members show up for the march and take the message back to their neighborhoods.
Roby said she is tired of seeing the messages on social media talking about change but no one trying to do the work.
“I want to see how far my community is willing to work,” she said. “Either you are going to stand up or shut up.”
Roby hopes to see a decrease in violence and more people becoming active in the community and said she’ll be looking for other opportunities to engage others in the community.