Black Men to Patrol Philadelphia's Deadly Streets
Philadelphia Tribune, News Report, Larry Miller, Posted: Sep 17, 2007
After suffering over 250 murders this year, the city of Philadelphia is asking for volunteers to help patrol the neighborhoods with the worst violence.
Philadelphia PA. -- Anti-violence groups are all over Philadelphia’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods, calling for an end to the bloodshed and trying to reach out to those more inclined to squeeze a trigger than talk to solve a dispute.
Three of the most visible are Men United For A Better Philadelphia, Mother’s in Charge and Mothers United Through Tragedy.
Now a coalition of media, civic and community leaders and law enforcement officials are calling for 10,000 Black men to rise up, take control of their neighborhoods and help keep the peace.
The recruitment effort called “A Call to Action: 10,000 Men — It’s a New Day,” was announced on Friday and is the brainchild of entertainment promoter Charlie Mack.
It will officially begin on Oct. 21 with a recruitment drive to be held at the Liacouras Center. The recruiting is to be followed by extensive training of the volunteers in conflict resolution techniques and to basically become neighborhood peacekeepers.
Mack, who was shot and wounded in the abdomen in 1985 and who lost two brothers to gun violence in 1995 and 2003, said ending the violence is a divine mission for him.
“This didn’t just happen. Last year, we started moving forward with this,” Mack said. “I met with Mayor Street and Commissioner Johnson and later with Kenny Gamble who really liked the idea.
“God put this on my heart. We’re losing too many of our young Black men to violence and it’s got to stop and African-American men are the ones we’re calling on to stop it.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Johnson said he fully supports the grass roots initiative and any program focused on ending the deadly violence in the streets. As of Tribune press time, 294 people have been killed and most of the victims are Black males, slain in what amounts to an undeclared genocidal war waged against themselves.
“This wasn’t initiated by me but by Charlie Mack, who is with Will Smith and lot of other people came on board including Kenny Gamble, Captain Dennis Muhammad, union president Henry Nicholas and E. Stephen Collins,” said Johnson. “We’ve been talking about it for a while now. I totally agree with it and I’m personally involved.
“It’s important to put men out in the streets to protect and defend our women, our children and our elderly. We’re asking for Black men, since we’re the one’s most affected by the violence, but any man of any race or religion is urged to join.”
The volunteers’ primary responsibility will be patrolling the streets strictly in the capacity of keeping the peace. Any law enforcement matters would be left to the police.
Commissioner Johnson said the peacekeeper patrols would take place every day, for two or three hours a day initially for 90 days in high crime areas. He also said that in some locations, there could be around the clock coverage.
“A lot of people just see Charlie in terms of entertainment but ending the violence is a serious issue for him,” said radio personality E. Stephen Collins. “He was shot and had two brothers killed, so this is really personal for him. This is a mission and a movement and I’d like to also clarify that this is not just another rally, ‘Ra-Ra-Ra let’s stop the killing.’ No, we’re calling for African-American men to stand up and commit themselves to keeping peace in their communities.”
Mack said it’s long past time for African-American men to stand up and meet their obligation and responsibilities to protect their women and children and elders. He said to do any less is cowardice.
“This is a movement about responsibility, not just another rally calling for peace,” said Mack passionately. “We have an obligation and responsibility to protect our women, our children and our elderly. These are our young Black men dying on the streets.”
Johnson said that the effort wasn’t a city program although many police commanders will be involved in training the volunteers and will be supporting the patrolling peacekeepers. Volunteers will be prohibited from bringing weapons or engaging in confrontations. Johnson said that there would be police officers in patrol cars where the groups are in case they’re needed.
“We’re going to put men on the street and we’re going to train them in conflict resolution. If someone sees 20, 30 or 40 men out on specific corners, you’re not going to have anyone committing crimes in those areas. In some locations, there’s going to be around the clock coverage,” Johnson said. “This is not a city program. It’s from the ground up, it’s a grass roots effort.
“In the African American community, we’ve lost 10,000 Black men over the last 10 years and had over 2,000 Black men shot and wounded so far this year. It’s time for our men to stand up because it’s our fathers and sons and cousins who are being killed. We’re expecting this to be successful. Even the Graterford Lifers want to get involved to send the message that these young men need to make better choices or end up where they are.”
Johnson has led the police department for seven years. Along with Mayor John Street, both have been facing increasing criticism for not dealing more effectively with the city’s rising and deadly violence.
Street, whose term ends in January 2008, has voiced support for the program, but it is not clear whether he will become involved. Calls for comments were not returned by Tribune press time.
A similar volunteer peacekeeping effort was started in Detroit, Mich., last year with Captain Dennis Muhammad, chief of security for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan.
Muhammad has a Detroit-based consulting business that works with police departments on community policing and sensitivity training called ENOTA Project Inc. ENOTA means Educating Neighborhoods to Obey Those in Authority.
Local union boss Henry Nicholas said a lack of jobs fuels much of the violence, pointing out that many of the murder victims and perpetrators are ex-offenders.
“It’s very difficult for someone with a prison record to find a decent job,” Nicholas said, who is president of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees. “We have to put in place the means to develop jobs and resources to these young men in the community. We can’t sleep on this any longer.”
Mack, who has been promoting the annual Party for Peace Celebrity Weekend for the last four years, said he gets calls all the time in reference to what’s going on in ‘Killadelphia.’ He said he hates the fact that Philadelphia is becoming known as the murder capital of the nation.
“If we, as Black men, don’t do something about this now the killing is going to continue,” said Mack. “Ending the violence is a Black man thing and we can do this. At the end of the day, you’ll have to answer for what you do. Any man who won’t rise up and protect his family and his children will only be able to look in the mirror and say to himself ‘I let down my woman and I let down my child and my God, I’m a coward.’"
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