An MOU with the Community

I’ve been out of the blogging business for the past week because the Inner-City Woman has been dealing with problems that are plaguing inner cities everywhere.
It has finally stopped raining and it has gotten HOT outside. Over the Memorial Day weekend when we are supposed to be honoring and remembering the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces, the heat brought with it the things that come with heat in the inner city. An increase in murders and shootings, nakedness, and mountains of ignorance. Last week, in our community, in the shootings of at least 15 people in the city, an off-duty police officer was the victim of a drive-by shooting. As with any killing of a man in blue (and as should be), an all-out manhunt began and one suspect was almost immediately apprehended. The other is still on the loose but I’m pretty sure they will catch him. There were two others wounded in the shooting  and my concern is that had an officer not been killed in the incident, the same gusto with which the suspects were pursued would not have been employed. Unfortunately, only high profile crimes (those that are real newsmakers) get that type of intense activity. But what I’m thinking is that if all shootings (even ones people feel were justified) were pursued with the same vigor, the itchy trigger finger syndrome would slow down. It’s too easy now to get pissed because someone stepped on your new white sneakers or spoke to your girl or even, as reported in this case, slapped your momma- and go “jack” a car and shoot up the joint because the stakes are not high. It doesn’t take much to cross the lines from at-risk youth to drug dealer, to gang member, to killer because there are not enough negative consequences to these actions.
What I propose is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the community; an agreement that says let’s work together to make our community livable. The MOU will recognize that everyone has something to offer. I't’ll say, “I’ll help your kid understand math and you can teach yoga at the center,” or “Let’s have a community clean-up and block party and basketball game,” or “If you do the crime, you will do the time.” The police and the community will have to address every issue because anything can become the first step that takes a person from a shooter on the basketball court to a shooter on a street corner. Whether it be the neighbor’s child or our child, we have to stand up for peace and justice. We have to go after every criminal, we can’t turn a blind eye at ANY foolishness. We have to keep our kids in school; keep them engaged in positive and interesting activity at all times. We have to stop looking at engaging them coming home from prison and work on the things that will keep them from going to prison. We need a networking system for parents, where they don’t just get food coupons and help with a heating bill, but real life skills so they can get a job with a real living wage; where they can get parenting skills that helps them prepare their children for success now and in the future. And we have to get some real training for these young people so they can compete for a real future. We have to have a positive message for our young people that doesn’t come from someone who only knows how to get money in the streets or have markings on his face labeling him as a killer (I don’t give a damn how much money he has). Let’s get it going in Newark and all over. It’ll be like the Declaration of our Independence and like John Hancock, I’ll have the first, largest, and most famous signature!

Peace- two fingers, one love!