This man watched politicians and ministers start 2007 by announcing a campaign to end black-on-black murders in New Haven. He liked the thrust of it, but based on his own time in jail, disagreed with a call to jam courtrooms with citizens demanding maximum sentences for young killers.
Politicians and ministers unveiled the “Zero Killings” campaign at a New Year’s Day press conference at Trinity Temple Church at Dixwell Avenue and Henry Street.
The event followed a year in which 24 murders took place in New Haven—three times the number that occurred in 2003. Click here to watch videos shot by Tom Ficklin of recent anti-violence rallies in town.
The campaign unveiled at Monday’s press conference calls on citizens to give the police more information on crimes and to push for creation of “zero-killing zones” with double penalties for shootings; on businesses to hire more young people; and on churches and fraternities and sororities and black adults in general to spend more time working with kids.
Emceeing the event was Jim Newton (pictured), who ran for mayor in 1999 and has become more visible in the past year as a critic of Mayor John DeStefano. Newton said yesterday was “not the time” to discuss whether he plans a run this year. Instead, he said, it was a day to talk about the tragic carnage on city streets.
“Regarding the 24 people killed in New Haven in 2006, almost all of them were black killer and black victims!” Newton said in his formal remarks.
“Today, I challenge the black community of New Haven to stand up and take ownership of our children and what we are allowing them to do. Take owernship of our own community and what we are allowing to happen within it.
“It is time we stop looking to the mayor, the governor or the chief of police for answers to youth violence in New Haven’s black community. Honestly, they don’t have the faintest idea. After all these years, hundreds of millions of dollars spent and numerous studies, they still don’t know what to do about youth violence in our city.
“The answers to our problems are within us. It’s about us as black men and women, us as community organizations and institutions stepping up to change the thinking of our people in order to affect behavior and therefore bring about a better quality of life for all of us.”
Newton asked people who wish to volunteer for the campaign to send an e-mail to this address.
Other prominent figures who spoke included former Mayor John Daniels, who also has emerged as a newly invigorated DeStefano critic; and State Rep. Bill Dyson, who, too, has become estranged from City Hall.
If you had any doubt that Dyson can preach, click the play arrow below to watch him describe a funeral he attended two weeks ago for a murdered young man in New Haven. His son was a pallbearer at the funeral. “I watched that and I said, Man, there’s something needs to be done in this town!” Dyson said.
It’s unclear how to measure whether this campaign turns out to produce concrete results or simply serve as a photo opportunity for some prominent figures in town. The plan offered no hard numerical goals beyond the call for “zero killings.” Presumably it will be apparent, in the case that killings do occur, whether “the community will pack the court house demanding maximum sentencing short of the death penalty,” as a position paper handed out at Monday’s event called for.
That specific call prompted a rejoinder from 31-year-old Shelton Tucker.
Tucker listened to the politicians and ministers make their formal remarks. Tucker served time in two state jails in his younger years on drug and assault-with-firearms charges. Now, he said, he earns an honest living as a glazier on construction jobs.
He approached the mike during a public comment section at the end of Monday’s event.
“These are not animals,” he said of young men who commit murder. “Kids are not animals roaming the streets looking for taking a life.”
He called for applying the “same zeal” expressed about locking up “these kids” toward corporations that could offer more jobs for young people. In that sense, he echoed Bill Dyson, who called poverty and joblessness the “gorilla” in the room. Dyson also spoke of how the shootings have tragic human consequences for victim and perpetrator alike, and their families.
“I ran the streets in the late ‘80s when crack really hit the community. I’m not selling drugs today because I got an opportunity to have a job and feed my family—not because of a ‘zero killing’ campaign,” Tucker declared.
“I don’t agree with throwing away somebody because of a murder…
“All we’re doing is further isolating these kids. The killers need help, too. I’ve been in jail with killers. They’re not bad people. They made a bad decision they regret their whole lives. As long as there are zero jobs, there won’t be zero killings.”
To watch a slide show from the press conference, prepared by Tom Ficklin, click below.
And to watch more video footage, also shot by Tom Ficklin, click on the play arrows below.
Are all of these people crazy? "I've been in jail with killers. They're not bad people." No of course not, I'm sure they're marvelous people - once they wash the blood off. Followed by the understatement of the year that killing someone is just a "bad decision" like eating extra dessert. Also the suggested "no killing zones", is that like a no parking zone? which seems to imply that there will be one and two hour killing zones. Maybe these community "leaders" can just shoot (haha) for a year of "no bad decisions, made by not bad people, in killing zones" If you think the government is here to help, just look at the "help" that was provided to New Orleans. The parasitical "ministers" who's churches don't pay taxes and don't create any economic activity in their neighborhoods have a lot of nerve talking about providing jobs - their line of work is basically talking s--t anyway. One last comment on the "employment tip," "As long as there are zero jobs, there won't be zero killings." Give me a job or I'll shoot.