A Suffolk native has organized a “Stop the Violence” forum and concert taking place this Thursday, Nov. 19, at Norfolk State University.

Donald Little, a 1990 John Yeates High School graduate who grew up on Nansemond Parkway, said he decided to put the event together while he was in the hospital from complications of diabetes. He said he will give a portion of the proceeds to the American Diabetes Association.

“There’s been so much violence going on,” he said. “I was inclined to make a difference. I can’t fix everything, but I can do my part.”

The forum will be free, but the concert afterward will cost $25.

The concert will be presented by KRS-One, an activist, author and founder of “Stop the Violence Movement.”

Guest speakers are Dr. Stefan Bradley, director of black studies at St. Louis University; Dr. Zoe Spencer, activist, scholar, Virginia State University professor and author on urban communities; and Dr. Colita Nicholas Fairfax, a researcher in the evolution of black communities, particularly in Hampton. Jessica Larche of WTKR News Channel 3 will be the moderator.

Little said he lost his mother and grandmother to diabetes and personally has lost a toe because of it.

“I feel like God put me in this position to make a difference,” he said. “That’s what I want to do.”

The forum will begin at 4 p.m. at the L. Douglas Wilder Center.

“Anybody that wants to be a part of it is welcome to come out,” Little said.