You just saw an opportunity to abandon your responsibilities.
Black men hear anti-crime plea
Reclaim neighborhoods, Langford urges
Saturday, February 09, 2008
ROY L. WILLIAMS
News staff writer
An estimated 3,000 black men from across metro Birmingham gathered in Fair Park Arena Friday night in response to Mayor Larry Langford's call to take a stand against black-on-black crime.
In a two-hour session that seemed like a rousing church rally, the crowd of young and old black men - including some fathers accompanied by their young sons - cheered as speaker after speaker urged them to stand up and take back communities plagued by violent crime.
Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper told the crowd that 10 of the 11 homicide victims killed in Birmingham this year were black.
"God gave me a mandate to keep our city safe," said Roper, a minister. "But I need your help. I'm looking for some men willing to stand up and make a difference in their communities."
Langford modeled his "Plan 10/30" to reduce crime after similar grassroots efforts in Philadelphia that have succeeded in reducing crime. The name of the plan reflects that the majority of crimes in the city are committed by black males ages 10 to 30.
As the rally kicked off, Langford had men file one by one and look into a coffin that had a mirror in it.
"The man you are looking at could be our next homicide victim in Birmingham unless we take a stand," he said.
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