Get Your Bucket And Go!

Fire! Fire!

A call went out to the Fire Department that a massive fire was consuming a multiplex apartment building. Inside the firehouse, the alarm sounds, and the firefighters spring into action. The mad rush to the vehicle starts, and the team assembles, the sirens begin, the firehouse door opens, and off they go. Within minutes, the firefighters are on-site, and what they see shocks them.

Why Are You Watching?

First, the fire was not as big as was reported, and they were hundreds of people outside of the building. The fire battalion chief screams at the crowd of people, “Why are all of you just standing here watching it burn!” What shocked and angered the firefighters was all of the bystanders all had a bucket of water beside them. Someone from the bystanders said, ” we were waiting for you because fighting fires is your job, not ours.” Yes, the battalion chief said, ” it is our job, but you all have water, and the fire could’ve done significantly less damage or been out if you all would’ve used what you have. Why watch it burn? GET YOUR BUCKET AND GO!”

Do You See?

Recently there has been a rash of murders across the city. You may have heard of Jaquan McNair 15, Jamel Kirkland 17. However, there are others that you may not have heard of like : DeAndre Person, 19, on Sept. 7; 16-year-old Steffen Brathwaite on Sept. 10; 17-year-old Jamel Kirkland on Sept. 22 and Tahlil Byrd, 19, on Sept. 29. 28-year-old Kalin Louis Middleton on Sept. 3; Semaj Alsobrooks, 22, on Sept. 4;; Robert Wagoner, 48, on Sept. 12; George Ransford, 32, on Sept. 13; 20-year-old Lamont Munden on Sept. 15; Alphonzo Carter, 55, on Sept. 16; Marquette Harris, 27, on Sept. 18; Vincent Carter, 21, on Sept. 19; Sean Coleman-Bey, 20, on Sept. 19; and Rashid Ferguson, 21, on Sept. 22.

Where There is Smoke…

Do you smell the smoke? Can you see the flames? What are you going to do with your bucket of water? The moral of the story is this, the problems are not black, and because they are so multifaceted, it is hard to narrow down to one specific issue. There is poverty, lack of education, lack of opportunity, mental health issues, and the broken culture of conflict resolution that contribute nicely to the flames. Think about it, there has been no mention race or bias added to the mix.

Too Many Combustibles

The issues of the community are superb combinations of the fire triangle. Do you remember when we learned oxygen, fuel, and a heat source makes a fire? You can pick any of the ingredients mentioned above, and we have ourselves a fire. Our communities are burning to the ground with violence and hopelessness. The inferno is spreading because we are failing to contain it.

Do you want a better future?

 

Bill Gates puts it this way ” Until we’re educating every child in a fantastic way until every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of things to do.”You see, there is no shortage of things to do, just a shortage of people who are willing to do them. In a recent talk with an organization named Give2Get, I shared with them that we will never enjoy the world that is possible without personal investment. Everybody wants a better future for their children and even for themselves. Right? At least that’s what everybody says because we all believe it in theory. The theory of a better world is perfect, but theoretical musings will not cut it. The world will not get better because of great ideas that never turn into action.

Stop Doing Things That Don’t Work

Violence prevention in the inner city is filled with strategies that don’t work. Let me say this clearly Marching doesn’t work, candlelight vigils don’t work, eulogies don’t work, police parked on corners do not work. The numbers back it up, the previous strategies have made almost no impact. According to Metropolitan Police statistics, 3,459 people have been murdered since 1999. That’s 5% of the population of Washington, D.C. that have lost their lives, and we cannot continue to do what history proves does not work.

The Past Holds The Key

When we perform an examination of the past, it can lead us to a long term solution. Because of the clear identification of the problem will help us find the cure. Ghanian born writer Ernest Yeboah writes, ” When we think carefully about the past, we get to know and understand not just what happened in the past but what really went into things that happened in the past.”What is the root cause of the events that contribute to homicides? According to DCPD data, its arguments and disagreements. The inability or unwillingness to resolve difficulties without violence is the leading contributor to the killings. When disputes are the cause, we can now ask how does a march, rally, vigil, eulogy, or police parked in the neighborhood work as a solution? The issue is we are treating an internal problem with a topical solution. In other words, we are treating appendicitis with vaseline on the stomach.

Here is The Takeaway

As a city, we must come face to face with the truth that we have taught our kids to resolve issues through violence. Now, the method of resolution is the same, but the means are different. In an attempt to fix the problem, we must grow violence out of our community by teaching children conflict resolution through deescalation. Will it work? There is no real way to know until we try conflict resolution with children through adulthood with the same commitment as marches and the like.

By E.N.Howie, Children of Mine Youth Center