‘Guns Down, Gloves Up’ believes in the uniting power of haymakers over handguns

Guns Down, Gloves Up Event // Photo by Sherman Judie

The Guns Down, Gloves Up program is finding that the best way to prevent violence in Kansas City is by punching someone in the head. With protective headgear on. The program offers a boxing gym for people in the city to manage conflicts, train, and learn, culminating in a monthly event that the community can enjoy.

Tucked away in a historical auditorium across from Troost Park lies a recently purchased boxing ring. Directly in front of the ring sits Bishop Tony Caldwell, with a neatly trimmed beard, black-and-white vestments, and a perfectly fitted baseball cap, brandishing the cross. Bishop Caldwell is the founder of the Justice & Dignity Center (JDC), the nonprofit coalition Guns Down, Gloves Up, and proud owner of the boxing ring that is featured at the monthly event, “I love being here. Let me tell you, working with all these organizations and individuals is a blessing.”

Caldwell has been dedicated to Kansas City for decades, and some attention-grabbing headlines have come out of it, from warning his community about a serial killer targeting Black women to fasting seven days on a roof to bring awareness to local homicides. Now he focuses on the Justice & Dignity Center, a community-based organization with a group of dedicated volunteers who listen to their neighbors’ needs. The operations director at the Justice & Dignity Center, Mark Pringle, explains, “We work with over 100 organizations throughout the city. We also have a food program, VR training program, a housing program for human and sexual trafficking victims, and the Guns Down Gloves Up program.” 

The very program that I had to track down ever since seeing a video on social media showcasing its full amateur boxing glory. The program has one clear goal: to help reduce violence in Kansas City through two components—the monthly event and the outreach program.

The Event

The next set of boxing matches will be held on Saturday, January 31, and Bishop Tony Caldwell was more than happy to share what to expect: “It’s marvelous. You have to be in the room to understand what’s going on. The atmosphere is a family-friendly environment. When you get into the ring, we push the purpose. Not just because you’re there boxing, but we push the purpose of why we’re all here. You can take it to the ring to settle instead of escalating a fight. At the end of the fight, whoever wins, whoever loses, both of them get in the ring and congratulate each other, because it takes a strong person to just get in the ring.”

Blasting music, professional referees, and the community cheering make you think this is the final round of the heavyweight bout. Experienced judges and coaches surround the amateur fighters as they leave it all in the ring. Even with the success of these events, the JDC hopes to provide a safe, local space to enjoy boxing. “It’s a family-oriented event, and we want to encourage parents to bring their kids. Our mission is to make everybody welcome. Make it a community-based event that encourages intervention instead of people shooting at each other,” explained JDC advisory board member Ed Williams. 

One day, the events hope to host semi-professional matches. “We actually got people who are skilled with it. It’s only getting better, and we are planning to host the amateur and the pro world here.” But beyond a single night a month, there is a team of dedicated people focusing on the root of violence in Kansas City, “One of the biggest things that people don’t really know about the Guns Down, Gloves Up program is that we have the fights that they see all the time that are televised, but there are other ones that go on behind the scenes.”

The Outreach

The team behind Guns Down, Gloves Up takes a direct approach to conflict management with their outreach team.

Community members are encouraged to resolve disputes in tightly controlled boxing environments rather than with firearms, resulting in fewer violent retaliations. The JDC emergency response team, composed of volunteer community members, seeks to de-escalate conflicts before they escalate into violence. Bishop Caldwell explains, “We get calls at all hours of the night—it doesn’t matter what time–telling us about a conflict that might escalate. Somebody might shoot someone else. So we dispatch our team to go have a conversation with them. We knock on doors in the middle of the night and let them know, ‘Hey, I know you’re planning on killing this person. Why don’t you let us mediate the situation?”

The team behind Guns Down, Gloves Up starts by listening to individuals at risk of escalating a conflict. They offer support, reflection, and–if all else is rejected–a boxing match. The outcome: “It’s just them. Nobody else. Just those two without their friends, without their crowd, without people cheering and egging them on. They get in the ring, put on the gloves, and they go at it. They usually last about a round before they get tired because they are out of shape.”

After one of these after-hours sessions, tensions are reduced, and participants are more open to positive change. “After the fight, we’re able to sit down and talk to them because: One, they’re exhausted. And two, they figured out they really didn’t want to fight in the first place. So now they’re open to mediation. I don’t care if it’s five o’clock in the morning before we leave. We make sure that we have a resolution.”

This year alone, Bishop Caldwell and his team have mediated 47 after-hours conflicts.

Who is willing to be available at any time to keep Kansas City neighborhoods safe? The people who live there. Caldwell explains, “We have twelve individuals on the response team, and these are usually people who are in the streets now. You know, there are influencers, gang leaders themselves… Those people others can relate to, because they’re their neighbors. We use that different type of positive peer pressure from their real peers.”

Assistance is offered in many forms at the Justice & Dignity Center, and one of the most successful is the Guns Down, Gloves Up program, which aims to reduce gun violence by offering an alternative through organized boxing. This program has led to a measurable decrease in violent incidents among participants and has helped build positive relationships and discipline in the community.

Bishop Tony Caldwell // Photo by Sherman Judie

The Work

The work for the JDC does not stop once the bell rings and the round is over. In order to encourage more collaboration to help reduce shootings, Williams suggests more involvement is needed, “This is a way that the youth and the community know that we’re listening. We’re looking for you. We have opportunities and alternatives to violence.” 

Support is needed most when rising food prices jeopardize the center’s ability to assist. Caldwell says, “Typically, our food budget was about nine thousand dollars a month. Right now, it’s running us about thirteen thousand dollars a month.” The non-profit relies on community support and is awaiting Jackson County grant decisions, aiming to secure resources to continue serving those in need.

Beyond money, the Justice & Dignity Center seeks local officials’ time and presence. “You know, we have that open-door policy, and if they make promises to the community, we hold their feet to the fire,” says Caldwell. The lively Monday evening advisory meetings routinely host members from the city council and the mayor’s office. The advisory board makes sure they hear the truth, “Since we don’t get funding from them, we can say whatever we need to.”

The Justice & Dignity Center is a staple of the Kansas City community, operating with a team overflowing with passion. Bishop Tony Caldwell stands at the center, hoping to spread love by sharing boxing with his hometown. “It’s about making that whole person again when they step out of the ring. What’s your life like? What are your goals like? We’re here to fix all of that, not just one issue. That’s what I love about the alternative program, Guns Down, Gloves Up. You might come in for one reason, but you’re leaving with fifteen other things solved.”

Support the Justice & Dignity Center during the Guns Down, Gloves Up Event taking place on January 31st. Details here.