Urban Peace and Justice Summit.

• Position: Kansas City, Missouri

From April 30 through May 2, gang leaders, community organizers, and urban youth met in Kansas City, Missouri, at a peace summit commemorating the first anniversary of the Rodney King verdict. Inspired by the truce reached between two major Los Angeles gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, summit participants agreed to work to bring peace and justice to urban areas.

"We are not saying that one summit is going to end gang violence, but what it does is plant seeds among all those people who attended and went back with hope," said Nane Alejandrez, director of the Santa Cruz chapter of the National Coalition to End Barrio Warfare. Four "ambassadors" appointed at the summit will travel from city to city, checking on the progress of summit initiatives.

Committees on economic development, police brutality, women's issues, empowerment, and vision met and...