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"Violence is not new! Some of us chose not to recognize is because it didn't impact us". Powerful words from Adam McFadden.
The Dean's List attended the Anti-Violence Summit held at Madison Middle School last night. The event was coordinated by Councilman Adam McFadden to start a dialogue among community members on how to stop the violence in Rochester.
Councilman McFadden stated that this summit was being held in the memories of murder victims Latasha Shaw and James Slater and the main purpose was to collectively develop an agenda to stop the madness.
The Dean's List has been to several meetings and marches over the last couple of weeks and I've become slightly frustrated by the direction or lack of we've been going in. It seems as if everyone has ideas on how to fix the problem, but either back off because everyone doesn't agree with their idea's or can't agree on how to implement solutions. Last night, I saw my first glimmer of hope.
Councilman McFadden stated that "we must stop beefing politically and come together - If we are going to save our kids, they can't see us going at each other".
Terry Riley, President of the National Black Caucus and Councilman of Kansas City spoke about challenges he faced in Kansas City and made some suggestions to start moving in the right direction:
* Be a parent, not a friend
* Respect - Teach It, Receive It and Give It
* Stop including children in on our personal junk
* Mental illness is a major issue in America
* History - teach it to your children
* Be Honest
* Adopt a school
* If you don't vote - Keep Your Mouth Shut!
City Court Judge Maya Dixon spoke about how she runs her courtroom. She talked about how she reaches out to the community for help with the youth she sees. She talked about how she is able to look into the eyes of our youth and see if there is any hope left. You can tell that she really cares about the youth of Rochester. So be ready when she calls you.
The turning point for me last night was at the end. We were all given numbers when we arrived at the meeting. We moved into the cafeteria and were broken down into 8 work groups. Each group was given an issue and we were asked to brainstorm ideas and come up with possible solutions. It was so refreshing to listen to the ideas of everyone in my group (which was about 30 people). There were no hidden agenda's, no politics', no one looking for personal gain. It was just citizens wanting to make their community a better place. This was when The Dean's List felt as if we might just make some progress.
We will continue to meet monthly on a project that will probably take a year. If we can get the entire community to participate so we can all be on the same page, there is no telling what we can do.
Councilman McFadden made a statement last night that says it all, "there are many city leaders, clergy, law enforcement officials here tonight, but I won't single them out - because tonight - we are all just citizens of Rochester".
You can write The Dean's List with your thoughts, comments or idea's at: Thedeanslist1@gmail.com
