By Susan Caba
An early summer march through a historically African-American St. Louis neighborhood that drew thousands of ministers, business and community leaders, as well as others, hungry for change was just the kick-off of an initiative to reduce crime and violence in the city's struggling neighborhoods.
The focus will be on young black men, with the goal of giving them economic options that will raise standards of living
and cut black-on-black crime. Leaders of
the initiative will present their plans and ideas to the Regional Chamber and Growth Association in September.
"The importance of the effort is to get people to help turn off the violence in
St. Louis," says organizer Eric C. Rhone,
president and CEO of Visions Management Group. "If we're really going to be a great city, a city of international importance, we've got to get all citizens to participate.
"We haven't really reached out to the business community to this point," says Rhone, who is also an active RCGA board member. "But the only way we're going to be successful is to have jobs, job training and access to programs that give people help and hope."
"A Call to Oneness" grew out of a conversation between Rhone and the Rev. Freddy James Clark, founder and pastor of the Shalom Church (City of Peace), in response to an increase in inner city violence. They determined to coordinate efforts between civic, business and church groups who are working individually on the related problems.
The June 1st march drew 20,000 people on the two-mile route from Page Boulevard and Kingshighway to Tandy Park, across from Sumner High School. Marchers and bystanders chanted "one, one, one," as they moved through neighborhoods scarred by poverty.
Violence in some predominantly black neighborhoods—some of the oldest in the city—has reached a "state of emergency" that had to be addressed, says Rhone.
"We know that the black male, at this point, faces many challenges—probably more challenges than any other demographic," Rhone says. "We're saying, 'Hey, we're all in this together.' We definitely stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, with the push for civil rights and the push for education. We respect that generation.
"Now there is a new generation, emerging right here in St. Louis, who are economically successful on a national and international level. We definitely need to put the focus on the young black male and the homicides in our city."
By the end of May, the number of homicides in St. Louis had outpaced the same period in the previous year by 15. On one day alone in May, there were five people murdered.
"When we march through north St. Louis, we hope to create a moral climate," the
Rev. Clark told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We hope to reclaim, through the vehicle of reconciliation, respect for the other and sanctity of life."
After the march, the question is, what can organizers do to effect change? A blogger on a Post-Dispatch site summed up the underlying issues:
"The city has a horrible time with
redeveloping its destroyed neighborhoods. Investors don't want to come in because
of the risk—real estate developers don't
want to come in because they can't make any money. Then you have a school
system that collapsed last year—losing its accreditation. It's hard to lure new
corporations, new businesses and new
residents to your city when the school
district has fallen apart.
"Thousands of young black males, (and black females) (have) nothing to do but be fed a steady dose of BET, poverty, and Rap cultureÉleading them nowhere."
Rhone acknowledged that the problems have developed over generations and may take generations to solve. But he said that, as some African-Americans have achieved success, they have access to the "upper echelons of business and opportunity." The Call to Oneness group plans to tap business leaders to create community partnerships that will include mentoring, job training and social supports.
Already, the group sends out a "peace-maker street team" to reach out to young people, particularly young men, and connect them with appropriate existing programs. "We found that people just don't have the information about existing programs, or they had it and they didn't follow up on it,"
says Rhone.
"We're concerned with our spiritual lives, our health, and our political-social lives, and we're definitely concerned with the violence in St. Louis. We're continuing to meet to plan our strategies.
"We are looking to involve a lot of
people—black and white, men and women—to create a new tone. We're not looking back, we're looking forward. We're not so much concerned about protest, as we are focused on progress."
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