Russell Simmons

By Souleo. In bowling you can get a gutter ball, a spare or strike out.  On Tuesday night some of the industry's notables came down to Harlem Lanes to strike out violence as part of New York City's Peaceweek, a week long awareness event inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of non-violence.  The event was produced by I Love My LIFE Village & Man Up! Inc. and those in attendance included Russell Simmons, Hot 97 radio personality Angie Martinez, Cheryl "Salt" James, Ja Rule, BET's Rocsi of "106 & Park," Alesha Renee and more.

It was a night of fun, food and drinks as well as serious conversations about how to promote non-violence.  Alesha noted that there is a serious need to strengthen communication to ensure more peace.

"I think communication has to be better.  In the community there are different cultures, ages, sexism and racism.  There are so many isms so we need to come together and intelligently express issues, needs and wants.  If we do this we can break down barriers," she said.

For Rocsi it all starts with listening and understanding that we are all human and connected to each other.

"People don't listen to each other and they need to heed the word.  We need to realize that we are only killing ourselves in the long run.  We all have so much to look forward to in this life so we really need to listen," she said.

Ja Rule who is finishing his new album and several film projects believes that the generation gap is partly to blame for the lack of peace.

"It's crazy but we got to find a way to create some bridge between old and young folks to share ideas and perspectives to keep the peace thing moving," he said.

Ja Rule also believes that it's going to take a lot more than just the urban entertainment industry to make a true lasting difference.

"I think we do our part but everybody has to do their part.  It's not for one group to do it.  It won't happen overnight so we need to take baby steps and make it fly," he said.