Carl Snowden: Annapolis public safety team should address continuing violence

Children often ask questions that begin with the word why? Why are there so many mass murders occurring in America? Why are so many people being murdered in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City? Why haven’t elected officials been able to address this problem? Why?

Last week, when the mass shootings occurred in Texas and Ohio, I immediately thought about the shootings that occurred at The Capital newspaper last year in Annapolis and our community’s response. We held a candlelight vigil and a concert. We raised money for a memorial and scholarships.

When the murders occurred of Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, our community responded with a City Hall demonstration and candlelight vigil.

When the subsequent and senseless murders that have taken the lives of so many young people including Tre Da Kid, Elijah Wilson as a result of gun violence, we responded with prayers and a candlelight vigil. Somehow these acts of compassion and concerns did not answer our children’s question.

Children who asked the questions, expect adults to have the answers and you may be surprised to learn that we do know how to prevent violence in our cities and societies. What we lack is the political will to do so.

When Mayor Gavin Buckley was elected to office it came on the heels of record homicides in the City of Annapolis. People who were dying never had previous mayor or police chief attend their funerals.

Buckley’s “One Annapolis” was both promising and new. During the mayoral election, candidates running for City Council pledged to support a new program modeled after Oakland, California’s successful anti-violence program. It is called Oakland Unite.

Oakland Unite in partnership with the Youth Leadership Development and Civic Engagement has been able to literally make a difference in the lives of people. All Oakland Unite’s program target Oakland’s highest risk community members and neighborhoods, with a particular focus of interrupting now as it is occurring and preventing future violence.”

The vast majority of members of the Annapolis City Council pledged their support for this initiative during the campaign.

In fact, Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee drafted legislation, which was never introduced. Buckley agreed to sign on to the legislation but didn’t include it in either of his budgets. Children ask simple questions why?

Last week, many houses of worships, churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples received information entitled “Keeping Your House of Worship Safe” from the City’s Office of Emergency Management(OEM).

Last week, a new police chief, fire chief, and emergency management director were unanimously approved by the City Council. They were called the “new” Public Safety Team. How does the “new” team plan to answer the question that children have been asking?

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, we have invited Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson, Fire Chief Doug Remaley and OEM Director Kevin Simmons to address the Caucus of African-American Leaders at the Wiley H. Bates Community Room, 1101 Smithville St, Annapolis. This meeting is open to the public and a complimentary dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m courtesy of Alderman DaJuan Gay. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.

One of the things that I know is that we must not allow it to become normal for journalists to be murdered, houses of worship and shopping centers to be targeted and young people to be murdered in our county. Children who asked the question why deserves better answers than the adults have been giving them and I for one, refuse to accept the notion that this is the new America.

A Luta Continua, which means in Portuguese that the struggle continues.

Carl Snowden is a longtime civil rights leader and the convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders.