As the summer winds down, community activists throughout the city have been advising local youth to curb the rampant violence that has senselessly claimed the lives of and hospitalized numerous victims this season.
A host of grassroots artists performed music with anti-violence messages at a rally this past Saturday afternoon at 142nd Street and Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem. “Africa Unite” and “One Blood” were two of the themes heard.
“Babylon is falling!” exhorted one rasta brother. “Rise up, Black man, and live! Unite and build up our communities! Stop the violence!” He went on to explain how the media and the mis-education system causes self-hatred and Black-on-Black violence.
A couple weeks earlier, a distraught 30-ish looking woman at a Stop the Violence demonstration on 169th Street between Park and Washington avenues in the Bronx implored from the stage, “Please stop killing each other! Put down the guns! Our children are dying in these heartless streets!” Her voice echoed through the speakers as several dozen people stood before the stage, while unaware children playfully chased each other under the glaring sun.
Local residents say this area was once notorious for heavy drug trafficking and reckless killings, and although the violence has subsided somewhat, they still tread lightly whenever outside, especially at night.
“Not that long ago, couple years maybe, this was a very nervous block―all the way down to Third Avenue,” claimed one man in his late 30s, pointing to the intersection of 169th Street and Park Avenue. He told stories of people who had been killed there throughout the years.
A police presence ensured that opportunistic politicians could solicit attention unharmed as they distributed flyers in hopes of garnering votes in the upcoming elections.
“They weren’t here before,” a 40-something man said of the political hopefuls, as well as of the NYPD observation tower on 169th Street, looming menacingly “over the natives of the concrete jungle known as the Boogie Down Bronx.”
A similar Stop the Violence rally took place in the Soundview section of the Bronx, where hip-hop legends Grandwizard Theodore and KRS-One spoke about the hidden hand behind the genocide committed against melaninated Americans.
Saturday, Aug. 23, activists demonstrated at the Central Family Center on Bright Street on Staten Island, not far from where Eric Garner was killed by New York’s finest.
“The best way to relay a message to our young people to stop the violence is by our own behavior in our communities,” suggested Rasheim Allah, one of the event’s conveners. “The best way to teach them is for us to live out our knowledge and understanding, and build. We are the best demonstration of peace.”
To see the Stop the Violence rallies, visit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTsIpZ_Si3A.
