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| Coalition to develop and implement plan of action |
By C. Denise Johnson |
Published
02/15/2007
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Metro
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Declares time for talk is past
For Black teens and young adults in the United States, homicide is the leading cause of death. Unfortunately, this is not news to Pittsburgh.
Last year there were 95 homicides in Allegheny County, 75 of those involved Blacks. In 2005, there were a total of 97 homicides. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania holds the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of Black on Black homicides in the nation.
 | TIM STEVENS
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The escalating level of violence in Black communities prompted an unprecedented gathering of community and grassroots organizations and activists to declare that the time for talk has past.
“White people are not killing us. We are killing us,” said Tim Stevens, head of the Black Political Empowerment Project and an organizer of what was basically a call to action meeting held last Thursday at the Hill House on Centre Avenue.
“We have become the problem and we must now find the solutions. We have no other choice.”
Yet with all the adults that turned out in support of the initiative, a teenager offered the most salient observations from a frontline perspective.
“We can’t go to other hoods and be happy with our family members; we can’t be cool with somebody from another hood. Even if you don’t gangbang you are a gang member,” 14-year-old Michael Turner said.
“I’m from Homewood, so technically I’m a Crip; if you’re from the Hill you’re ... a Blood. I like to go everywhere but you can’t do that because you see, we’re watching death before our eyes and we experience a lot. We see our family members getting killed and all we’re doing is absorbing that like sponges.”
“If you kill someone today, I’m killing someone tomorrow—that’s how we take it. Instead of a light shone to our eyes, we’re shoved to the darkness—that’s all we see. We’re just criminals trying to survive,” he continued. “We need stronger educational program so we could let out what we feel with our artistic abilities and our lyrical abilities and our athletic abilities so we can be happy and live out our lives in longevity. Please, let me see beyond 21, beyond 18—we gotta see past that —I’m only 14 and I wishing the same thing. It’s deep because it’s hard for us as people to get by in life. All I want to be is an adult.”
Minister Jasiri X, a member of Muhammad’s Mosque 22 and a member of One Hood, seemed to speak for the assembly as he followed the teen at the podium.
 | JASIRI X
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“How can you not see and feel that? It seems as though we’ve lost our sensitivity to death and violence. At some point every death has to be taken personally. We can’t keep dealing as if we are disconnected from one another.”
The upshot of the gathering was to announce the next step in address Black-on-Black violence—a series of meetings, beginning on Feb. 20 (location to be announced later) to develop an implementation plan to stem the deadly trend.
Stevens said more than 52 individuals representing various organizations signed up to speak in support of the initiative.
“Far too many people have seemingly become immune to the violence and it’s gone unabated,” he said. “The African-American community must take the lead in ending what we have come to call ‘Black on Black violence.’”
The answers lie in creating a self-discipline and duty to community where residents must feel each other’s pain, said Jasiri X.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who attended the meeting, said he could not pretend to understand what crises the young men face, but said he would work with the community to try to stem the ongoing slaughter.
Stevens met with city officials Monday in an immediate follow-up to the support expressed Thursday to a packed house.
The mayor agreed to assemble the external resources needed to implement the agenda culled from the meetings, said Stevens.
“Due to the overwhelming show of support, what we will do is ask everyone to write down their ideas and suggestions to put in a hat and discuss each one and determine which ones can be implemented within our communities, and the ones that require outside resources for implementation will then go downtown,” explained Stevens.
“We intend to hold the mayor, Doug Shields, Bill Peduto and the other officials to their word of support.”
For more information on meeting dates and locations, contact B-PEP at 412-758-7898.
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Comments
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Comment #1
(Posted by Charmale Cockrell)
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I am at work thinking about how I hate my job, boss and the everyday hustle of trying to make it day to day and I stopped to see what’s going on in my community. This article has made my day and has given me a different perspective. So many people would be happy to have the problems I have. Not many Blacks do get the opportunities that I have been given and would be happy to be in my shoes. I have to be thankful for the blessings that God has given to me and I have to share those blessings and try to help someone else to receive and accept the blessing that are given to them. The young man in the article has wisdom beyond his years and has lost so much of his innocence but he has made the first step in reclaiming it. I know that we as Blacks need to step in and help our own in ending the violence and I hope that the City of Pittsburgh can assist us.
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Comment #2
(Posted by James Turner)
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Your comments hold much weight; but let's not depend on anyone or anything out side of our selves's!
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Comment #3
(Posted by RTVL)
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"A thought I wish you all to lay to heart…neither we, nor any other people, will ever be respected till we respect ourselves, and we will never respect ourselves till we have the means to live respectably."
Frederick Douglass
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Comment #4
(Posted by Anonymous)
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The comment the young man made "All I want to be is an adult" WOW that was deep!
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Comment #5
(Posted by omar r. canty, jr.)
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Congratulations, Pittsburgh!
The nation is weary, yet hopeful, that meaningful approaches will be developed to address the problem of Black on Black crime, and the decreased life expectancy of our young Black men and women. It appears that you are off to a good start. We applaud you, your leadership, and your supporters, and pray that your efforts will be sustained. There is much to gain.
May God Be With You!
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Comment #6
(Posted by Paradise Gray)
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Thanks to everyone who attended and/or participated in the B-Pep/One HOOD News Conference on violence Thursday, February 8th at The Hill House.
We had a phenomenal turnout of interested people, and a most diversified representation of interested parties, as well!
Again we apologize to anyone who wished to speak but couldn’t due to the constraints imposed by the numbers in attendance. We appreciate your collective understanding.
On Tuesday, FEBRUARY 20, 2007 at 6 PM we are asking interested people to assemble in the Hill House Auditorium. We are asking those with agencies, organizations and programs to:
· List what you are doing, or expect to do to impact violence.
· What services or resources do you need and from whom do you need them.
(This could be from public bodies, other agencies, religious groups, schools, universities, police, the community at large, etc.)
PLEASE HAVE THIS INFORMATION IN SUMMARIZED PRINT.
Please consider possibilities for joint initiatives & collaborations.
To encourage fairness in the presentation process, we will ask each person who wishes to present to list their name and organization on a piece of paper which will go into a container. We will then randomly pick names out of this container and that will be the order in which people will present. Our goal is to get work done to impact the violence in our region.
We have already met with the Mayor and he has committed to have staff involved and to assist, at the end of the process, in helping to bring together those who can help implement our strategies and programs.
For more information:
B-PEP: 412-758-7898
B_PEP2005@yahoo.com
www.b-pep.org
One Hood:
OneHOOD@gmail.com
http://www.myspace.com/onehoodorg
Thanks again, we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday Feb. 20th, 6 PM at The Hill House.
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Comment #7
(Posted by Robert W. Flanagan)
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A little fact, Pittsburgh has the privilege of being known for two facts. One is that we are now NUMBER ONE is Black on Black crimes and we are NUMBER 2 in single Black parents. Need I say more? Well I will. Tthese two facts or stats go together. The foundation of the community or Black people period was family. The Black family is being divided in half for many reason but one the reason are that Black women (MOTHERS) and Black men (FATHERS), do not respect or like each other is some cases. So what do we do, take it out on the children. Orlando Patterson (Professor of Sociology at Harvard), spoke about this. A couple of years ago, Professor Patterson spoke about the plight of Black family especially Black women and men. Yes, I will say it "Child Support", is one of many problems. I do not condone a man who is not paying his support or abusing the mother or children but I believe that when this bill was signed in 1983 by Ronald Reagan, it was the worst thing for Black America. How many of you have seen young girls with multi children? Where is the father? Mothers should not have to be the only part is the raising of their children. If we are number 2 in single Black parents, it is not surprising that we are number one in murder, let me rephrase this, number one in homicide committed to Black males by Black males. WAKE UP, let's put OUR difference aside and look at the big picture, OUR KIDS.
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Comment #8
(Posted by Rhonda Robinson)
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Thank you Father God, I was living in Homewood last summer when a young man was washing his new car and some of our young brothas with guns did a driveby. Children were outside enjoying the sunshine and this beautiful young man was shot down in his youth, DEAD! I didn't know the young man personally, but I cried all day, my heart ached so bad for him, his dreams, and that car he'd worked hard to get. Pastor Moore at 1st Galilee Baptist on Tioga said he'd remember that young man, offering to help Pastor around his home. I pray that our children's hearts melt away the roughness (Protective Barriers) and allow for love to shine again in my hometown. Too many have died and I am tired of CRYING. God Bless Pittsburgh.
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Comment #9
(Posted by Yvonne)
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It starts with us, and it will end with us. We have to stop the hate within ourselves to stop it in the community. Only then will we be able to heal.
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