What You Need To Know:
Baltimore, Maryland ended 2019 with 348 homicides and the worst homicide rate on record. Through community walks, a grassroots group of dedicated men are attempting to break Baltimore’s cycle of violence. It’s not a march, says the group, but a movement. “We’re all we’ve got,” they chanted as they left Faith United Baptist Church. “We’re all we need.”
About 60 strong, the men — pastors, activists, residents and others — have been walking three times a week for several months now through different parts of the city. Their mission is to save lives in a city beset by violence. They see themselves becoming a consistent and trusted presence in neighborhoods where shootings and homicides have become all too common, making connections, mediating disputes, helping residents feel protected and safe. “We have to be at the center of the change of saving lives,” said Dr. Andrey Bundley, an organizer and director of African American Male Engagement, a division of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success. “If the state of black men is going to change, it’s going to take black men to inspire and guide black men, first, and then other people of goodwill.”
Why You Need To Know:
We are aware of the frequency of violence in our community. But we need to know that there are movements afoot to do something about it. We need to know that we can not just sit back and accept this trend and that there are people who are doing something about it.
Not just complaining about it, reporting about it, ignoring it, and going to funerals. There is a group of men that are being proactive and making a change.
