Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 Source: Wilmington Journal (NC) Copyright: 2007 The Wilmington Journal Contact: http://wilmingtonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3424 Author: James Wright, Of The Afro-American Newspapers Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) LEGISLATORS ADDRESS 'HOMETOWN TERRORISM' October 11-17, 2007 WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Gangs and drugs are terrorizing communities of color and it is up to government at all levels to combat it. That was the general conclusion of a brain trust, "Terrorism at Home: Breaking the Grip of Gangs and Drugs in Our Communities," sponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in collaboration with the National African American Drug Policy Coalition, a consortium of Black organizations committed to changing the drug laws and culture to the benefit of Blacks. Cummings is a proponent of homeland security and "hometown security," he says. "People in our neighborhoods are not afraid of Osama bin Laden but are more afraid of people who are sitting next to them," he said. "Homicides in my city, Baltimore, are on pace to reach record levels this year. One of the products of this is gang violence. "But it is not just people in the city but the suburbs. They are joining gangs, also." Young people joining gangs has become a major problem today, Frank Clark of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Gang Intervention and Investigation Unit, said. "More kids are aspiring to become gang members and it is reaching epidemic proportions," Clark said. "Not only is it the Bloods, the Crips and MS-13, but it is these neighborhood crews that are causing problems." Clark said that parents need to be cognizant of the type of people that there children associate with and if they start wearing certain colors on a consistent basis. "People in our neighborhoods are not afraid of Osama bin Laden but are more afraid of people who are sitting next to them." Alabama Drug Court Judge Martha Lynn Sherrod said that tattoos, graffiti, hand signals and colors are strong indicators whether gangs are in an area. She noted that medium-size cities like hers, Huntsville, have been targeted by gangs. "It is no longer the big cities or L.A.," she said. "The new recruiting grounds are smaller cities where people are struggling to live. What are fueling gang activity are illegal drugs and it is lucrative. "Gangs are becoming employers of our youth." Snitching, or telling law enforcement authorities on the activities of criminals, has become a problem in many big cities. In Baltimore, there is a culture on inner-city streets where people who snitch face retaliation. At its mildest, a snitch is ostracized from his/ her peers; at its worst, "rats" are beaten or killed. Cummings has worked with such people as Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony in trying to stop retaliation for snitching. Rahim Jenkins, a senior policy advisor for the Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia's Ex-offender Affairs Office, said that witnesses do not come forward because much of America is caught up in a culture of violence. "You have to understand how these young people look at things," he said. "They understand that the Bloods and the Crips are gangs, but they also think that the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Congress are gangs. Why? "Because to them, they function as a gang. The Senate and the Congress protects its members and, in their view, act a certain way and commit crimes to be a part of their gang. "It is the same way with athletic teams. It does not make sense but that is the way they think." Kenneth Barnes, president of ROOTS (Reaching Out to Others Together), said that gun violence is a problem in Black communities. "So far this year I have attended 50 funerals this year," he said. "These were funerals of our youth. These young people have access to guns too easily. "Something must be done to stop this." Clarence Edwards, the president of National Black Law Enforcement, said that the situation was not hopeless. "I think that we can turn this around in our communities if we work together," he said. "We should embrace our youngsters and tell them that we love them." Edwards said that he has gone to D.C. public schools that had been in bad shape and has been told by youth that they don't thing that the adults care about them. Jenkins said that gangs have gotten so bad in some neighborhoods that "they have become the new slave masters." Nkechi Taifa, a senior policy analyst for the Open Society Institute, said that the federal government should allow cities, counties and states to implement strategies to fight gangs. "Sometimes the feds get in the way and it should be a local matter in order to stop gangs," she said. "The feds should assist the local and the state governments. Only the local and state government knows the unique situation that they face." Howard University School of Law Dean Kurt Schmoke, a former state's attorney and mayor of Baltimore, said that stronger role models are needed in the community and the police must play a larger role in fighting crime. Schmoke said, "It will take all of us to stop the growth and proliferation of gangs." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom