Faith in Action

I’ve been encouraged as of late with the increasing number of organizations that are attempting to address the issue of violence in the Black community.  Organizations like the Zero Murder Rate Movement, the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP, and many others are devoting energy to finding a fix for this problem.  The latest group to address it is Justice Maryland.  They are holding a press conference today and on Sunday they will have a No More Murders Rally and “die in” at the War Memorial Plaza downtown.  In an effort to give a human face to the murder rate, more than 200 people will lay their bodies down symbolizing the number of people who have been killed in Bmore. 

The community is rising up to challenge this evil in our communities.  Senator Larry Young of the Larry Young Morning Show on 1010AM is continuing his on-air community organizing practices by calling together a delegation of men to address issues in our community as well.  They are preparing to take a trip to Philadelphia to meet with the men who organized a 1,000 Black men volunteer force to address the violence in their community.

I pray that this is the spark that helps propel men of African descent in this city to become more active in the streets and in the lives of our youth.  We don’t need more police.  We need more men.

While 1,000 men is a great number (the organizers in Philly originally set a goal of recruiting 10,000 men), at this point, I’d be happy with 100 committed men focused around a specific strategy to address crime and violence in Baltimore in a holistic way. (holistic meaning - as we confront the violence in the streets we also confront the violence in the suites that comes in the form of unjust policies, bad laws, and systemic oppression)