How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent
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0:01 - 0:05I've learned some of
my most important life lessons -
0:05 - 0:08from drug dealers
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0:08 - 0:10and gang members
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0:10 - 0:13and prostitutes,
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0:13 - 0:18and I've had some of my most
profound theological conversations -
0:18 - 0:22not in the hallowed halls of a seminary
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0:22 - 0:24but on a street corner
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0:24 - 0:27on a Friday night, at 1 a.m.
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0:28 - 0:34That's a little unusual, since I am
a Baptist minister, seminary-trained, -
0:34 - 0:38and pastored a church for over 20 years,
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0:38 - 0:39but it's true.
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0:41 - 0:43It came as a part of my participation
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0:43 - 0:47in a public safety
crime reduction strategy -
0:47 - 0:51that saw a 79 percent reduction
in violent crime -
0:51 - 0:55over an eight-year period in a major city.
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0:55 - 0:57But I didn't start out wanting to be
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0:57 - 1:01a part of somebody's
crime reduction strategy. -
1:01 - 1:04I was 25, had my first church.
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1:04 - 1:07If you would have asked me
what my ambition was, -
1:07 - 1:11I would have told you
I wanted to be a megachurch pastor. -
1:11 - 1:15I wanted a 15-, 20,000-member church.
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1:15 - 1:18I wanted my own television ministry.
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1:18 - 1:20I wanted my own clothing line.
-
1:20 - 1:22(Laughter)
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1:22 - 1:24I wanted to be your long distance carrier.
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1:24 - 1:26You know, the whole nine yards.
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1:26 - 1:28(Laughter)
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1:28 - 1:31After about a year of pastoring,
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1:31 - 1:35my membership went up about 20 members.
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1:35 - 1:39So megachurchdom was way down the road.
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1:39 - 1:42But seriously, if you'd have said,
"What is your ambition?" -
1:42 - 1:44I would have said just to be
a good pastor, -
1:44 - 1:48to be able to be with people
through all the passages of life, -
1:48 - 1:52to preach messages that would have
an everyday meaning for folks, -
1:52 - 1:55and in the African-American tradition,
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1:55 - 1:59to be able to represent
the community that I serve. -
1:59 - 2:04But there was something else
that was happening in my city -
2:04 - 2:06and in the entire metro area,
-
2:06 - 2:10and in most metro areas
in the United States, -
2:10 - 2:16and that was the homicide rate
started to rise precipitously. -
2:16 - 2:18And there were young people
who were killing each other -
2:18 - 2:21for reasons that I thought
were very trivial, -
2:21 - 2:26like bumping into someone
in a high school hallway, -
2:26 - 2:29and then after school,
shooting the person. -
2:29 - 2:32Someone with the wrong color shirt on,
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2:32 - 2:37on the wrong street corner
at the wrong time. -
2:37 - 2:40And something needed
to be done about that. -
2:41 - 2:45It got to the point where it started
to change the character of the city. -
2:45 - 2:47You could go to any housing project,
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2:47 - 2:50for example, like the one that was
down the street from my church, -
2:50 - 2:53and you would walk in,
and it would be like a ghost town, -
2:53 - 2:57because the parents wouldn't allow
their kids to come out and play, -
2:57 - 3:00even in the summertime,
because of the violence. -
3:00 - 3:03You would listen in the neighborhoods
on any given night, -
3:03 - 3:06and to the untrained ear,
it sounded like fireworks, -
3:06 - 3:07but it was gunfire.
-
3:07 - 3:11You'd hear it almost every night,
when you were cooking dinner, -
3:11 - 3:15telling your child a bedtime story,
or just watching TV. -
3:16 - 3:21And you can go to any emergency
room at any hospital, -
3:21 - 3:24and you would see lying on gurneys
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3:24 - 3:28young black and Latino men
shot and dying. -
3:29 - 3:31And I was doing funerals,
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3:31 - 3:35but not of the venerated matriarchs
and patriarchs who'd lived a long life -
3:35 - 3:38and there's a lot to say.
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3:38 - 3:41I was doing funerals of 18-year-olds,
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3:41 - 3:4317-year-olds,
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3:43 - 3:45and 16-year-olds,
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3:45 - 3:49and I was standing in a church
or at a funeral home -
3:49 - 3:51struggling to say something
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3:51 - 3:54that would make some meaningful impact.
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3:55 - 4:01And so while my colleagues were building
these cathedrals great and tall -
4:01 - 4:05and buying property outside of the city
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4:05 - 4:07and moving their congregations out
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4:07 - 4:12so that they could create
or recreate their cities of God, -
4:12 - 4:15the social structures in the inner cities
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4:15 - 4:19were sagging under the weight
of all of this violence. -
4:19 - 4:22And so I stayed, because somebody
needed to do something, -
4:22 - 4:26and so I had looked at what I had
and moved on that. -
4:26 - 4:30I started to preach decrying
the violence in the community. -
4:30 - 4:33And I started to look
at the programming in my church, -
4:33 - 4:37and I started to build programs
that would catch the at-risk youth, -
4:37 - 4:40those who were on the fence
to the violence. -
4:40 - 4:42I even tried to be innovative
in my preaching. -
4:42 - 4:44You all have heard of rap music, right?
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4:44 - 4:46Rap music?
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4:46 - 4:48I even tried to rap sermon one time.
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4:48 - 4:52It didn't work, but at least I tried it.
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4:52 - 4:56I'll never forget the young person
who came to me after that sermon. -
4:56 - 4:58He waited until everybody was gone,
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4:58 - 5:02and he said, "Rev, rap sermon, huh?"
And I was like, "Yeah, what do you think?" -
5:02 - 5:05And he said, "Don't do that again, Rev."
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5:05 - 5:07(Laughter)
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5:08 - 5:10But I preached and I built these programs,
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5:10 - 5:13and I thought maybe if
my colleagues did the same -
5:13 - 5:15that it would make a difference.
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5:15 - 5:19But the violence just
careened out of control, -
5:19 - 5:24and people who were not involved in
the violence were getting shot and killed: -
5:24 - 5:30somebody going to buy a pack
of cigarettes at a convenience store, -
5:30 - 5:34or someone who was sitting
at a bus stop just waiting for a bus, -
5:34 - 5:36or kids who were playing in the park,
-
5:36 - 5:39oblivious to the violence
on the other side of the park, -
5:39 - 5:42but it coming and visiting them.
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5:42 - 5:44Things were out of control,
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5:44 - 5:47and I didn't know what to do,
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5:47 - 5:51and then something happened
that changed everything for me. -
5:52 - 5:55It was a kid by the name of Jesse McKie,
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5:55 - 5:58walking home with his friend
Rigoberto Carrion -
5:58 - 6:01to the housing project
down the street from my church. -
6:01 - 6:06They met up with a group of youth
who were from a gang in Dorchester, -
6:06 - 6:08and they were killed.
-
6:08 - 6:11But as Jesse was running
from the scene mortally wounded, -
6:11 - 6:13he was running in the direction
of my church, -
6:13 - 6:16and he died some 100, 150 yards away.
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6:17 - 6:20If he would have gotten to the church,
it wouldn't have made a difference, -
6:20 - 6:23because the lights were out;
nobody was home. -
6:23 - 6:26And I took that as a sign.
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6:26 - 6:29When they caught some of the youth
that had done this deed, -
6:29 - 6:33to my surprise, they were around my age,
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6:33 - 6:37but the gulf that was between us was vast.
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6:37 - 6:41It was like we were in two
completely different worlds. -
6:41 - 6:44And so as I contemplated all of this
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6:44 - 6:46and looked at what was happening,
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6:46 - 6:52I suddenly realized that there was
a paradox that was emerging inside of me, -
6:52 - 6:55and the paradox was this:
in all of those sermons -
6:55 - 6:57that I preached decrying the violence,
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6:57 - 7:01I was also talking about
building community, -
7:01 - 7:03but I suddenly realized
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7:03 - 7:06that there was a certain
segment of the population -
7:06 - 7:10that I was not including
in my definition of community. -
7:11 - 7:12And so the paradox was this:
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7:12 - 7:16If I really wanted the community
that I was preaching for, -
7:16 - 7:18I needed to reach out
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7:18 - 7:22and embrace this group
that I had cut out of my definition. -
7:23 - 7:26Which meant not about building programs
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7:26 - 7:29to catch those who were
on the fences of violence, -
7:29 - 7:34but to reach out and to embrace those
who were committing the acts of violence, -
7:34 - 7:37the gang bangers, the drug dealers.
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7:37 - 7:41As soon as I came to that realization,
a quick question came to my mind. -
7:41 - 7:43Why me?
-
7:43 - 7:45I mean, isn't this a law
enforcement issue? -
7:45 - 7:47This is why we have the police, right?
-
7:48 - 7:53As soon as the question, "Why me?" came,
the answer came just as quickly: -
7:53 - 7:58Why me? Because I'm the one who
can't sleep at night thinking about it. -
7:59 - 8:03Because I'm the one looking around saying
somebody needs to do something about this, -
8:03 - 8:06and I'm starting to realize
that that someone is me. -
8:06 - 8:09I mean, isn't that how
movements start anyway? -
8:09 - 8:13They don't start with a grand convention
and people coming together -
8:13 - 8:16and then walking in lockstep
with a statement. -
8:17 - 8:22But it starts with just a few,
or maybe just one. -
8:22 - 8:24It started with me that way,
-
8:24 - 8:28and so I decided to figure out
the culture of violence -
8:28 - 8:31in which these young people
who were committing them existed, -
8:31 - 8:33and I started to volunteer
at the high school. -
8:33 - 8:36After about two weeks
of volunteering at the high school, -
8:36 - 8:39I realized that the youth
that I was trying to reach, -
8:39 - 8:41they weren't going to high school.
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8:41 - 8:44I started to walk in the community,
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8:44 - 8:47and it didn't take a rocket scientist
to realize that they weren't out -
8:47 - 8:50during the day.
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8:50 - 8:54So I started to walk the streets
at night, late at night, -
8:54 - 8:57going into the parks where they were,
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8:57 - 9:00building the relationship
that was necessary. -
9:00 - 9:05A tragedy happened in Boston
that brought a number of clergy together, -
9:05 - 9:09and there was a small cadre of us
who came to the realization -
9:09 - 9:12that we had to come out
of the four walls of our sanctuary -
9:12 - 9:14and meet the youth where they were,
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9:14 - 9:17and not try to figure out
how to bring them in. -
9:18 - 9:20And so we decided to walk together,
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9:20 - 9:22and we would get together
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9:22 - 9:25in one of the most dangerous
neighborhoods in the city -
9:25 - 9:28on a Friday night and on a Saturday night
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9:28 - 9:30at 10 p.m.,
-
9:30 - 9:32and we would walk
until 2 or 3 in the morning. -
9:32 - 9:36I imagine we were quite the anomaly
when we first started walking. -
9:36 - 9:38I mean, we weren't drug dealers.
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9:38 - 9:40We weren't drug customers.
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9:40 - 9:43We weren't the police. Some of us
would have collars on. -
9:43 - 9:45It was probably a really odd thing.
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9:45 - 9:48But they started speaking
to us after a while, -
9:48 - 9:50and what we found out is that
-
9:50 - 9:54while we were walking,
they were watching us, -
9:54 - 9:56and they wanted to make sure
of a couple of things: -
9:56 - 10:02that number one, we were going
to be consistent in our behavior, -
10:02 - 10:03that we would keep coming out there;
-
10:03 - 10:06and then secondly,
they had wanted to make sure -
10:06 - 10:08that we weren't out there to exploit them.
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10:08 - 10:10Because there was always
somebody who would say, -
10:10 - 10:12"We're going to take back the streets,"
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10:12 - 10:15but they would always seem to have
a television camera with them, -
10:15 - 10:17or a reporter,
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10:17 - 10:20and they would enhance
their own reputation -
10:20 - 10:22to the detriment of those on the streets.
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10:22 - 10:25So when they saw that we had none of that,
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10:25 - 10:27they decided to talk to us.
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10:27 - 10:31And then we did
an amazing thing for preachers. -
10:31 - 10:35We decided to listen and not preach.
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10:35 - 10:37Come on, give it up for me.
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10:37 - 10:41(Laughter) (Applause)
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10:41 - 10:45All right, come on, you're cutting
into my time now, okay? (Laughter) -
10:45 - 10:47But it was amazing.
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10:47 - 10:53We said to them, "We don't know
our own communities after 9 p.m. at night, -
10:53 - 10:56between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.,
-
10:56 - 10:57but you do.
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10:57 - 11:03You are the subject matter experts,
if you will, of that period of time. -
11:03 - 11:05So talk to us. Teach us.
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11:05 - 11:07Help us to see what we're not seeing.
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11:07 - 11:11Help us to understand
what we're not understanding." -
11:11 - 11:14And they were all too happy to do that,
-
11:14 - 11:18and we got an idea of what life
on the streets was all about, -
11:18 - 11:22very different than what you see
on the 11 o'clock news, -
11:22 - 11:28very different than what is portrayed
in popular media and even social media. -
11:28 - 11:31And as we were talking with them,
-
11:31 - 11:35a number of myths were dispelled
about them with us. -
11:35 - 11:42And one of the biggest myths was
that these kids were cold and heartless -
11:42 - 11:45and uncharacteristically bold
in their violence. -
11:45 - 11:49What we found out was the exact opposite.
-
11:49 - 11:51Most of the young people
who were out there on the streets -
11:51 - 11:55are just trying to make it on the streets.
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11:55 - 11:56And we also found out
-
11:56 - 12:00that some of the most
intelligent and creative -
12:00 - 12:07and magnificent and wise
-
12:07 - 12:09people that we've ever met
-
12:09 - 12:14were on the street,
engaged in a struggle. -
12:14 - 12:18And I know some of them call it survival,
but I call them overcomers, -
12:18 - 12:21because when you're in
the conditions that they're in, -
12:21 - 12:27to be able to live every day
is an accomplishment of overcoming. -
12:28 - 12:30And as a result of that, we said to them,
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12:30 - 12:33"How do you see this church,
how do you see this institution -
12:33 - 12:36helping this situation?"
-
12:36 - 12:40And we developed a plan
in conversation with these youths. -
12:41 - 12:45We stopped looking at them
as the problem to be solved, -
12:45 - 12:50and we started looking at them
as partners, as assets, -
12:50 - 12:56as co-laborers in the struggle
to reduce violence in the community. -
12:56 - 12:58Imagine developing a plan,
-
12:58 - 13:03you have one minister at one table
and a heroin dealer at the other table, -
13:03 - 13:08coming up with a way in which the church
can help the entire community. -
13:10 - 13:14The Boston Miracle was about
bringing people together. -
13:14 - 13:16We had other partners.
-
13:16 - 13:17We had law enforcement partners.
-
13:17 - 13:20We had police officers.
-
13:20 - 13:22It wasn't the entire force,
-
13:22 - 13:27because there were still some who still
had that lock-'em-up mentality, -
13:27 - 13:29but there were other cops
-
13:29 - 13:34who saw the honor in partnering
with the community, -
13:34 - 13:37who saw the responsibility from themselves
-
13:37 - 13:44to be able to work as partners
with community leaders and faith leaders -
13:44 - 13:46in order to reduce violence
in the community. -
13:46 - 13:49Same with probation officers,
-
13:49 - 13:51same with judges,
-
13:51 - 13:55same with folks who were
up that law enforcement chain, -
13:55 - 13:57because they realized, like we did,
-
13:57 - 14:00that we'll never arrest ourselves
out of this situation, -
14:00 - 14:06that there will not be
enough prosecutions made, -
14:06 - 14:12and you cannot fill these jails up enough
-
14:12 - 14:15in order to alleviate the problem.
-
14:16 - 14:20I helped to start an organization
-
14:20 - 14:2420 years ago, a faith-based organization,
to deal with this issue. -
14:24 - 14:28I left it about four years ago
-
14:28 - 14:31and started working in cities
across the United States, -
14:31 - 14:3319 in total,
-
14:33 - 14:36and what I found out
was that in those cities, -
14:36 - 14:40there was always this component
of community leaders -
14:40 - 14:45who put their heads down
and their nose to the grindstone, -
14:45 - 14:48who checked their egos at the door
-
14:48 - 14:51and saw the whole as greater
than the sum of its parts, -
14:51 - 14:57and came together and found ways
to work with youth out on the streets, -
14:57 - 15:01that the solution is not more cops,
-
15:01 - 15:07but the solution is mining the assets
that are there in the community, -
15:07 - 15:10to have a strong community component
-
15:10 - 15:15in the collaboration
around violence reduction. -
15:15 - 15:20Now, there is a movement
in the United States -
15:20 - 15:26of young people who I am very proud of
who are dealing with the structural issues -
15:26 - 15:31that need to change if we're going
to be a better society. -
15:31 - 15:36But there is this political ploy
to try to pit police brutality -
15:36 - 15:41and police misconduct
against black-on-black violence. -
15:41 - 15:43But it's a fiction.
-
15:43 - 15:45It's all connected.
-
15:45 - 15:49When you think about decades
of failed housing policies -
15:49 - 15:53and poor educational structures,
-
15:53 - 15:56when you think about
persistent unemployment -
15:56 - 15:59and underemployment in a community,
-
15:59 - 16:02when you think about poor healthcare,
-
16:02 - 16:05and then you throw drugs into the mix
-
16:05 - 16:07and duffel bags full of guns,
-
16:07 - 16:13little wonder that you would see
this culture of violence emerge. -
16:13 - 16:17And then the response that comes
from the state is more cops -
16:17 - 16:20and more suppression of hot spots.
-
16:20 - 16:23It's all connected,
-
16:23 - 16:26and one of the wonderful things
that we've been able to do -
16:26 - 16:31is to be able to show the value
of partnering together -- -
16:31 - 16:37community, law enforcement,
private sector, the city -- -
16:37 - 16:38in order to reduce violence.
-
16:38 - 16:42You have to value
that community component. -
16:43 - 16:49I believe that we can end
the era of violence in our cities. -
16:49 - 16:54I believe that it is possible
and that people are doing it even now. -
16:55 - 16:56But I need your help.
-
16:58 - 17:02It can't just come from folks
who are burning themselves out -
17:02 - 17:04in the community.
-
17:04 - 17:07They need support. They need help.
-
17:07 - 17:09Go back to your city.
-
17:09 - 17:10Find those people.
-
17:10 - 17:13"You need some help? I'll help you out."
-
17:13 - 17:16Find those people. They're there.
-
17:16 - 17:22Bring them together with law enforcement,
the private sector, and the city, -
17:22 - 17:24with the one aim of reducing violence,
-
17:24 - 17:28but make sure that
that community component is strong. -
17:28 - 17:32Because the old adage
that comes from Burundi is right: -
17:32 - 17:39that you do for me,
without me, you do to me. -
17:39 - 17:42God bless you. Thank you.
-
17:42 - 17:46(Applause)
- Title:
- How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent
- Speaker:
- Reverend Jeffrey Brown
- Description:
-
An architect of the "Boston Miracle," Rev. Jeffrey Brown started out as a bewildered young pastor watching his Boston neighborhood fall apart around him, as drugs and gang violence took hold of the kids on the streets. The first step to recovery: Listen to those kids, don't just preach to them, and help them reduce violence in their own neighborhoods. It's a powerful talk about listening to make change.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 18:03
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast approved English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent |