Trenton: What's Going On???

TRENTON- Its been a while since my last post,  but boy oh boy have there have been some things going on in the Garden State's capital city lately. As the old saying goes, some things change, but at the same time, some things stay the same. 

For starters, just this summer, Art All Night 2018, a well-known arts and music festival, was abruptly put to an end one evening when suddenly a mass shootout broke out leaving one dead and many wounded. In the midst of this, a new mayor has also emerged coupled with a few new council members. Even in the middle of all this political change, we still see senseless violence in the city. 

Just a few Saturday's ago, Trentonian correspondent, Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman, reported that Eric Rue, 34, was shot and killed at Championship Bar in the city. This young man was less than a year younger than myself. Others were hurt and wounded while the city was celebrating its community back to school events. 

This state of affairs leaves many wondering "what's next?" or "why stay here?" or perhaps even the proverbial "Trenton can't have nothing!" declaration. In any event, something is amiss within the city and a change definitely needs to come as Sam Cooke famously sung. 

The new mayor, Reed Gusciora, has suggested that we need to increase the size of the police force, others have stated that we need better parenting, while others are saying we need more after-school activities or nonviolence education programs. Despite the merit of these ideas, I think a multi-pronged approach is needed. 

In my estimation, the way forward will consist of all the above mentioned ideas, plus more.

In order to adequately address the violence in our midsts, I think we will also need to protest and petition our local leaders and/or work with community activists on creative ways forward. Civic and community engagement is critically important. Moreover, I believe we will also need to establish more partnerships among civic and political groups as this can foster more ideas and creative thinking. Additionally, I am all for encouraging more volunteering with at-risk youth as the youth sometimes need someone to show them that someone really cares and is committed to helping them stay on the right path.

I think another area to focus on is ensuring that illegal weapons do not end up in the hands of the wrong people. One way of doing this is through a gun buyback program. For more information on gun buyback programs, click here.

I also think we need to somehow address barriers to jobs and education as idle hands are a devil's workshop. Lastly, I think its going to be imperative that we provide more educational opportunities for parents.

The main reason that I am highlighting the importance of a more collaborative rather than individual effort to curb the violence in our community is to underscore how critical teamwork is when working on any meaningful endeavor. Indeed, there is wisdom and truth in the saying that, "teamwork makes the dream work". In order to move the needle and make a difference within our community, we will all need to play a role in ameliorating this plaguing social problem.

So, I urge members of the community to band together, protest the status quo, and create a better Trenton free of violence and mayhem. It won't be easy, but with commitment and determination, I am confident that we can achieve real change together.

Is Trenton Headed For Chaos or Community?

TRENTON-- Today, as accusations of corruption in high places circulate and urban violence peppers our streets, the city of Trenton finds itself in quite a quagmire.

In just the past few weeks, we have witnessed our city's mayor being escorted in handcuffs by Federal Agents after allegations surfaced that he was involved in conspiring to extort $119,000 from a Hudson County developer for a downtown parking garage. As news spread, residents looked on with embarrassment, support, and misunderstanding, all at once.

On top of the mayor's troubles, New Jersey's state capitol, was struck with a recent spate of violent crime. News reports indicate that a 77 year old city woman was the recipient of gunfire as her Stuyvesant Avenue home was shot up two weeks ago. And if that's not enough, a 19 year old young man that seemed as though he was on the right track was needlessly shot and killed this past Saturday. As of today, the city has seen 15 murders this year.

Despite these grim and unforgiving realities, I am not going to join that chorus of doomsayers that suggest that Trenton is going to hell in a hand-basket. Yes, Trenton needs repair, but, please believe, we are not living in Beirut. Over the course of living in this community and blogging, I have seen many positive things happening. Just last month, volunteers and other members of the community helped put together a new playground at Monument School. For more information on this, click here.

But even as I celebrate those positive things, I also recognize the need to speak to those nagging problems that afflict our neighborhoods. As stated earlier, crime and corruption are real things in our community. So, in saying that, I think the first step in dealing with these sorts of issues is to put an end to all the finger-pointing and fault-finding and recognize what Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera recently said.

At a community meeting, Rivera said that its going to take "a partnership, the police cannot do this on their own". Indeed, we (including myself) as stakeholders in the community, are going to need to put our money where our mouth is, figuratively speaking, and stop complaining about what others aren't doing. Trentonian columnist LA Parker echoed this sentiment when he said that this recent spate of violence "will serve as a rallying point for the city of Trenton" for us to wake up and get involved.

It seems clear to me that it is going to take a collective effort on all our parts to improve our community. Now please don't get me wrong, in difficult economic times, one doesn't expect to get blood from a stone, if one cannot provide financially, one can still help in other ways by investing their time and effort.

For instance, let's take that extra two hours we have during a typical week and use it by talking to our youth and really being there for them. Or perhaps, you can take that extra time and volunteer that time to help community groups and organizations that already exist. These groups are out there and are in need of help. To name just a few of these organizations, there are the Fathers and Men United For a Better Trenton, the Trenton Chapter of the NAACP, the PeaceKeepers, the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton, and Capital City Youth Development Council.

These groups need our time and talents. If you have a knack for providing counsel and being a mentor, what is stopping you? If you have a gift for working with children, then Lord knows your gift is needed somewhere. Or perhaps your forte is community organizing, then why not get together a group of individuals to do a weekly block clean-up. Lo and behold, it is through these small but significant deeds that our community can improve. Don't get me wrong, it won't be easy, and the change won't happen overnight, but if we stay committed and resolve to make a difference, change is possible.

As Dr. King so eloquently said, will we choose chaos or community? I sincerely hope we choose the latter.

Tuesday Night Stroll Leads To Guns And Liquor

TRENTON-- Imagine if you will, its 9:30 pm on a Tuesday evening, and you've had a rough day at work. You find your self strolling through an abandoned playground in North Trenton (not the safest place to be, I admit) after having a few drinks.

Now then imagine if you will, you stumble across a nameless young man approaching you in a slovenly and somewhat tipsy manner. In one hand, he has a bottle of Hennessy that is half empty and in another he is brandishing a pistol.

As the young man walks by, he asks you, "what you doin' around here? where you from? how old are you?" You take a long look at the young man who appears to be five years your junior.What do you do?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you what I did and how I felt because I was on the receiving end of those questions Tuesday night. Between you and me, as this young man asked me questions and held the gun, on the inside, I was scared and on edge, but on the outside, I appeared calm and relaxed because I didn't know where this was going to lead. So, I patiently listened to the young man express his concerns about his life being in danger while he loaded the small handgun in front of me.

The young man seemed quite paranoid, saying random things like, "my boy just got robbed the other day' or 'I was stabbed at a party the other day'. Of course, to me, the young man's statement seemed out of place (since I didn't know him from a can of paint). During our conversation, he said that he could rob me if he wanted to.

At that point, I really didn't know what to think. I didn't want to agitate the young man any further than he already was, so I continued to listen. However, on the inside, I was saying I need to get the hell out of here pronto, I was scared.

But then the conversation began to change, the anonymous young man said, 'I don't want to disrespect you'. He then offered me a sip of his Hennessy and again not wanting to agitate or disturb any further than he already was, I took it. After he gave me the sip, he left. About 30 seconds after he left, I ran out of there, going in the opposite direction.

Indeed, this experience was an eye opener. The most obvious lesson I got out of this was that I don't need to be walking in places that are known to be high crime areas. That young man could have easily robbed or shot me if he wanted to, but he didn't. I didn't quite understand this, but indeed, I wasn't in the position to ask a lot of questions. At the end of the day, I am extremely grateful that this nameless young man didn't do anything to me. Yet this experience also opened my eyes to the highly possible reality that this young man was and is not alone in fearing for his life and that there maybe many others out there like him that are on edge and ready to shoot as well.

This situation makes me raise many questions: what social conditions are in place that influence or motivate this young man's behavior? What role do parents play in influencing this kind of behavior? What role do schools play? What role do film and music play in this kind of behavior? Is this a personal responsibility issue where family, friends, and other community activists all need to intervene to stop this kind of behavior? Or is there some policy that government officials can enact that would reduce the likelihood of things like this happening again in the future? Alas, I wish I knew the answer to these pressing questions, but I don't.

However, what I do know is that something has got to give...and soon.