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 Askia At-Large
Askia Muhammad
Columnist Page
Friday, October 8, 2004; Page 21
‘Guns Aside’ Plead D.C. Victims
We’ve reached a sad milestone in our lives. More and more parents are burying their children. It’s not the other way around. Youth violence has gotten almost completely out of control. We are literally surrounded by young people who do not value the life of another human being. The evidence is chilling.
Many of the young people who expressed condolences to Marita Michael when her son, 16-year-old Devin Fowlkes was gunned down, are now themselves dead Ms. Michael told a press conference/pep-rally at the National Press Club Sept. 29. Now, about the only thing Ms. Michael wants to do is to tell Black youth to put “guns aside.”
The anecdotal evidence of fear and intimidation is extensive. Teenage girls living in Washington, afraid to leave their homes at any time. Youths routinely threaten one another with death and sometimes threaten adults. There are not many proposed solutions on the table.
“Guns Aside” is a multi-media campaign organized by Kenneth Barnes, Sr. Three years ago, he was completing his requirements for a Ph.D at Loyola College in Maryland when his oldest son Kenneth, Jr., a respected U Street retail business owner, was murdered in his store. It was Sept. 24, 2001.
This year, flanked by mothers of gun-murder victims, many, many young people as well as by the Mayor, Police Chief and top prosecutors from Washington, as well as the Police Chief and State’s Attorney from neighboring Prince George’s County, Mr. Barnes laid out a plan targeting at-risk youth in order to reduce the level of youth homicides.
As Mr. Barnes and other participants in the rally made their preparations for the press conference, dozens of others pulled “Guns Aside” T-Shirts over their heads. His pep-rally quickly overtook and transformed the press conference.
“All systems--family, education and government--have not met the needs of victims of homicides and the needs of” at risk youth Mr. Barnes said in his concept paper.
His answer is to build on relationships with businesses, clergy, law enforcement and local government agencies. Some of the program’s partners include Parents of Murdered Children, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, Cease Fire Don’t Smoke the Brothers and Sisters and the Alliance of Concerned Men.
“Hi. My name is Marquis Williams. I am 10-years old and I attend Randall Highlands Elementary School. Many kids have lost their lives because of gun violence, including my friend Ernest Sockwell,” the boy sobbed. “With help of education and the community, that’s why I think the community should put guns aside.”
“I’m Danny Govan. I attend Hart Middle School. I’m living without a dad because of gun violence. My father has been killed in Southwest. He was shot in the head. I really miss my father. I’m sad because I do not have a dad in my life.”
“I can’t tell you of any other greater hurt than to have your child murdered,” said Mr. Barnes. “That’s why I fight so hard.” Parents are indeed burying their children instead of the other way around.
Other speakers included Francine Lowe, whose 15-year-old daughter Myesha was fatally shot in July as she sat in a car. “She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Ms. Lowe. “I’m just here to say: Please stop the violence in D.C.”
The Guns Aside campaign will include messages on public transportation, outreach at concerts and “Go-Go’s,” as well as school visits, and even “Guns Aside” Discount Cards. It comes at a time when the number of juvenile homicides is surging in the national capital area.
“We’re going to take a pro-active approach to deliver positive subliminal messages,” Mr. Barnes told reporters. “So everywhere the youth turn, there will be a positive message about Guns Aside. It’s not an ‘us-and-them’ problem. It’s a community problem.”
Mr. Barnes hopes his non-profit organization “Reaching Out to Others Together (ROOT) can exert the same kind of moral influence concerning gun violence that Mothers Against Drunk Driving have. |
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