By Karon Majeel
Police officers, community advocates, preachers, and politicians in Denver are in agreement on at least two points when talking about gangs. First, gang violence isn’t a law enforcement problem – it’s a community problem. And, because law enforcement didn’t create the problem, it can’t solve it. The solution, like the problem, must come from the community. Not as clearly answered are the issues of where the problem begins, what the best solutions are, and who is best equipped to deliver them.
Terrance Roberts is the executive director of the Prodigal Son Initiative, a mentoring and gang intervention program, and he will tell you the problem begins at home and, without intervention, ends in prison – or worse – the cemetery.
“There were three killings just last night,” reported Roberts one bright summer morning, explaining that he isn’t comforted by statistics indicating fewer deaths in the 2007 “Summer of Peace” than in the 1992 “Summer of Violence.”
“It’s peaking,” protested Roberts, insisting that murders in general may be down but overall gang violence and fatalities are increasing.
Roberts also believes the gang problem begins at home, and sees families in crisis as the root of gang activity. He urges parents, schools, and non-profits to invest the majority of their efforts on potential gang members, and not just focus on already committed gang members. Roberts also challenges the powers that be to think beyond school walls.
“These young people lack exposure to things most Coloradans take for granted. Most of my (Prodigal Sons) kids have never been to the mountains or a Broncos game. Video games and rec centers are all they know. We need more programs that get our kids out of the city and off the street,” said Roberts, a former gang member who knows firsthand that the streets are where hope is lost and gangs win.
Cisco Gallardo, the program director of Gang Rescue and Support Project, agrees exposure to positive activities is the best deterrent to gangs, along with strong values and positive attitudes learned in stable families and nurtured in the church and community. Gallardo first encountered the organization from the other side of the desk, and credits his sense of community and pride to Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios, founded by the late Denver activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and now led by Nita Gonzales, his daughter.
Gallardo remembers being taken to a Chicano event in Los Angeles, honoring those who protested against the Vietnam War, and recalls the pride he felt that day.
“The unity there – 18,000 Chicanos getting along, greeting each other in love, made all the coaching I was getting at home real to me. When we got back it was put up or shut up, and I chose to take the high road,” he said.
“I’d really like to see more churches at the table,” he said, encouraging more churches to take on gang initiatives. “I’m really into my church, so I know what it can do for people, and that’s where we can do a lot of parent education, too.”
A Meeting Of The Minds
“We can’t use the criminal justice system to solve social problems,” summarized John McBride, at a June 15 meeting at Blair-Caldwell African American Library.
The meeting was called primarily to address fighting between rival gangs in City Park at the beginning of the Summer Concerts Series. The Links Room at the library was filled with community activists and organizers, law enforcement officials, politicians, media, and concerned citizens, when McBride expressed dismay that the meeting’s purpose was to react to recent incidents, rather than as part of an ongoing citywide dialogue.
“This didn’t really start at City Park,” said Public Safety Manager Al LaCabe, sharing McBride’s frustration.
A New Orleans native, LaCabe added, “We come from a city where, traditionally, people couldn’t – and wouldn’t – out of fear, go to certain places,” but he is determined that Denverites don’t learn that fear.
To demonstrate his determination and the city’s commitment to keeping all of Denver safe, LaCabe was joined by Regina Huerter, the executive director of the Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission, and Capt. Mike Callo, the Gang Unit Task Force commander. Callo cautioned that gang membership numbers in Colorado are swelling, estimating as many as 12,000 in the Denver metro area.
When challenged by a resident about his motives and commitment to addressing gang violence, Callo answered, “I care as a human being.”
“I know that we have to mentor these kids and coax them away from the gangs, he added. “But I don’t know of any cure for it.”
“Law enforcement does have our back,” acknowledged Roberts of Prodigal Son, “but we have to connect law enforcement to the community.”
Some participants questioned the usefulness of the meeting, including Rev. Leon Kelly, the founder of Denver’s Open Door, another gang intervention and prevention effort.
“We should be talking about Juneteenth, but look where we’re at. This is just a knee jerk reaction!” Kelly said.
Alvertis Simmons was equally frustrated with the meeting’s structure, at one point erupting from the side of the room, “Can you let people talk? I’m tired of hearing politicians talk!”
Simmons pointed out that many gang members are forced to stay in gangs due to felony convictions.
“Let’s figure out where the jobs are and get some people hired,” exclaimed Simmons.
Simmons, Kelly, and Roberts all agreed that employers must be found who are willing to take the gamble and give gang members jobs. They also agreed that without opportunity, and the hope of a better future, disenchanted youth will continue to turn to gangs.
As the meeting drew to a close, everyone was encouraged to show their commitment to being part of the solution by attending that Sunday’s (Father’s Day) concert in City Park. JuJu Nkrumah, a community activist, avowed Pan-Africanist and mother, strode to the podium and reminded everyone that Black youth are not the problem, either.
“Our Black kids are great. The same things (fights) happen at Cherry Creek and Washington Park,” proclaimed a defiant Nkrumah. “Let’s get real and start respecting our youth.
The meeting concluded with the distribution of “Summer of Peace” signs, made by local youth and intended to be displayed by community members to send a message about nonviolence and gang prevention.
Celebrating Peace As An Alternative To Violence
On July 2, just a few weeks after the meeting at Blair-Caldwell, Prodigal Son Initiative took a different approach to finding a solution to gang violence. It held an evening of peace at Denver’s Baha’i Buddhist Center, featuring the Venerable Thupten Ngodup, Medium of Tibet’s Chief State Oracle.
In contrast to the June event, the sidewalks outside weren’t lined with TV reporters. There were no cameras, just a few print journalists, and no uniformed police officers.
The evening began with the low rumblings of Buddhist monks, eyes lowered and hands clasped in prayer, followed by prayers from local Christian, Native and Muslim clergy and practitioners. The medium smiled and humbly took his seat before a crowd of about 150, who had come in hopes of learning a unique approach to ending violence.
“This is not about a summer of violence,” Denver City Council President Michael Hancock emphatically explained. “We know better now, and we’re here to talk about peace.”
Hancock’s enthusiastic statement to peace received applause – which grew with his acknowledgment of Terrance Roberts as someone who’s been in a gang and decided to steer others away from gangs and violence as his life’s work.
Roberts cautioned against applauding individuals, and emphasized the importance of the work.
“I just don’t want to bury any more kids,” he said.
The evening became a celebration of people determined to counteract both the lure and the violence of street gangs. Each one passionately spoke of their commitment to the strategies of peace and love, not aggression, to influence Denver’s youth.
After a dramatic performance by Denver’s Aztec Dancers, punctuated with the fragrance of burning sage, Gallardo choked back tears as he spoke of visiting a young man who was fighting for his life in the hospital -- with four gunshot wounds – and would possibly never walk again.
“Peace is not just a place to get to, it’s a process,” Gallardo said, pleading with everyone to please share the evening’s experience with others. “We have to pray that (the youth) will hear something in tonight’s message that will move us to action.”
After nearly two hours of pleas for peace, love, music, and dance, the guest of honor came forward and sat with his interpreter. The translation was seamless, with the interpreter and the Tibetan medium appearing to blend their thoughts into one voice.
They advised developing the Summer of Peace initiative into youth programs throughout the coming year, supported by schools and religious institutions. They also cautioned against “an over-importance of self and self-cherishing” and letting the differences in our individual religious expressions undermine the work.
“We must look beyond ourselves,” Ngodup advised. “Religion and race don’t matter. We all hurt, we all bleed and others wish for happiness and freedom just as we do.”
He spoke of the Buddhist tradition – similar to the Christian one – of putting the needs of others before ourselves, reciting from a morning prayer, “May all sentient beings have happiness, free from suffering and causing suffering.”
In closing, the medium advised everyone to practice training their minds and resisting negative illusions. He also assured the audience that deep contemplation on peace and respect for others would naturally lead to a reduction in hurt and violence, saying, “Do not engage in any activity that might be harmful and lead to further suffering, but cultivate positive deeds that lead and transform into happiness and a higher state of being.”
Faith Community Invited To Lead
Friday, the 13th of July, began with Denver’s faith community meeting with law enforcement and city officials at the downtown Denver Public Library, at the invitation of Councilman Hancock, to discuss working together to keep Denver youth safe, and away from gangs.
Joined by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, LaCabe, Huerter and Callo of the Denver Police were once again emphasizing the importance of community involvement. They repeated their request for help in forming an interdisciplinary approach, to the two dozen clergy and lay men and women from different religious organizations in northeast and west Denver.
The need for a central bulletin board to disseminate information was identified and, with Hancock’s support, Huerter agreed to begin developing one on the Crime Prevention and Control Commission Web site.
Some present took exception, however, to the meeting’s handout outlining strategies for their involvement, saying it seemed to imply that they weren’t already addressing the issue. They also questioned whether money, specifically for the expense of expanding prisons and supporting the police budget, didn’t influence law enforcement’s response to gang activity.
The response from officials was that the handout was simply a starting point to begin the conversation. Participants asked for even more information to take back to their congregations, and requested in-depth training for those ministers and priests who still haven’t grasped the severity of the situation.
Referring to the Summer of Peace yard signs distributed at the last police-sponsored meeting and available again at this event, Roberts warned, “That’s just a piece of plastic, not a force-field. It’s just a symbol to bring people to the discussion. Let’s not start praying to the plastic.”
Later, a woman from Now Faith Christian Center in Montbello shared her concerns about the signs. Citing a local pastor’s pamphlet, she described the traditional peace symbol on the yard signs as a corruption of the Holy Cross and demonic.
Pastor Ralph Beechum of House of Joy Miracle Deliverance Church applauded everyone in the room for making a difference, and reminded them that as clergy their most powerful weapon and tool against gang violence must always be prayer.
And, as it began, the meeting closed with prayer.
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