Thursday, February 5, 2009

Trying to Turn the Tide

On Saturday afternoon from 1:00PM-3:00PM there will be a meeting of black community leaders and activists to discuss what programs are currently running in the various neighborhoods and how can concerned individuals get involved to support them and offset violence. The meeting was called by Minister Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. They are also trying to get black men to volunteer for walking the streets of New Orleans during the times of the day when the city is the most violent. There’s supposed to be tables set up from the various programs so people can see which one they can contribute to.

I know that the last few weeks I have sounded kind of harsh towards these issues. It’s only because the problem frustrates me. It only frustrates me because I love my hood and I get tired of them not loving themselves. Nevertheless, I am going to go and see what I can do without taking time away from my own responsibilities. That’s the real simple solution but the situation is too critical not to attack it on different levels. It’s going to take a lot of people to get this done so I encourage anyone who reads this before Saturday to at least go down there for a few minutes and check things out. I'm hoping that when I get there the crowd is so thick that there is not enough space to accommodate all of the potential volunteers. That would be a great sign. I am also hoping to see my mayor, other elected officials and the police chief too. This is the kind of event that they all should champion and lead the call for.

It's only February. We have lots of time to turn this year around and make it a good one.

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