in World News As DC Violence Skyrockets, Black Community Leaders Rally Neighbors To Protect Each Other
By Haley Strack
In the same spot where 6-year-old Nyiah Courtney was shot and killed two weeks ago, 100 black men gathered to hold their community accountable.
“The responsibility of the safety of this community is on the people who live in this community,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C Chair Salim Adofo.
The event “100 Black Men for Peace and Empowerment” called on strong black men to lead an effort to organize and support their community. On Saturday, the group went door-to-door in Southeast Washington, D.C., handing neighbors pamphlets with information about work development programs, how to pay back rent, and where to receive mental health help. The group also called for an end to gun violence and helped clean trash off the streets.
“When we can see black men doing some positive things in the very community in which they live, we can start to change the way people view their neighborhoods. We should be neighbors opposed to, ‘Oh, those are just people who live there,’” Adofo said.
Building bridges between neighbors is an effort to rebuild communities, Adofo said. With rising crime rates in predominately black neighborhoods and community members’ growing suspicion of law enforcement, many violent crimes go unreported. Adofo wants to change that.
full story at https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/27/as-d-c-violence-skyrockets-black-community-leaders-rally-neighbors-to-protect-each-other/