Voices against violence rise in St. Petersburg
Mothers, ministers and agencies join forces to "eradicate senseless killing and drug sales.''
By JON WILSON
Published August 6, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - First the mothers stepped forward, still grieving for their slain sons but taking a message from their hearts to the street:
Please, stop the killing.
On July 29, marchers took the same message from Midtown's Campbell Park to the steps of City Hall.
Last week, a powerful group joined the battle.
Several of the community's most influential African-American ministers announced their commitment to what began a few weeks ago as a personal door-to-door campaign to end violence, particularly black against black crime.
The early, small effort appears to be on the way to becoming a major movement.
"It's right on the doorstep" of making the transition, said Gypsy Gallardo, a community organizer who is helping the ministers spread the word about their initiative.
Several "streams" of activity, some overlapping, are coming together, Gallardo said.
There are the mothers, like Denise Swisher, Breeshell Devine and Alicia Roberts, who took to the streets in June to plead for peace. All lost their sons to gunfire. Two were 18 years old; one was 20.
Composing another stream are agencies such as the Urban League and community activists, including Theresa "Momma Tee" Lassiter.
The ministers and many in their flocks represent still another stream.
State Rep. Frank Peterman, who is also pastor of the Rock of Jesus Missionary Baptist Church and one of the organizers of the ministers' effort, said it has been more than a decade since he has seen the churches and their larger communities united in such a way.
"The last time I saw it like this was when the (Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance) came together under Bishop Copeland in the early '90s," Peterman said, referring to the late Bishop John Copeland, who served as IMA president.
The politically outspoken Copeland was both a peacemaker and a powerful advocate for African-American interests during the highly charged mayoral election of 1993, when David Fischer narrowly defeated former police Chief Ernest Curtsinger.
This time the galvanizing issue is street violence.
On Wednesday, the Rev. Rickey Houston, pastor of Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church, was the host of a service attended by an estimated 200 to 300 people. It launched the faith community's involvement and served as a kind of pep rally challenging church members to join the battle, which has been in the planning stages for about a year.
At an informal media conference before the service, the Rev. Louis Murphy, pastor of Mount Zion Progressive Baptist, said the aim is to "eradicate senseless killing and drug sales."
"There is concern among the citizens. Enough is enough," Murphy said.
A visible sign of commitment was scheduled to take place this weekend during Saturday's two-front march from Bartlett Park and Childs Park to a rally at Wildwood Park.
Organizers asked the marchers to carry posters bearing photos of 85 young black men who have died violently in or near St. Petersburg during the past five years.
More than a dozen churches are involved. Within the churches are two projects aimed at bringing change.
One is the Nehemiah Project, an international Baptist movement named for the Old Testament prophet. One of its aims is to create social change through faith. Peterman helped start the local group, which eight churches participate in.
The other is the Calling the Men Home Project, a six-church collective Murphy has energized. It encourages young men to become a force for community renewal.
"There are some very strong angels God has placed in strategic places. We want to say, devil, watch out!" said the Rev. Nate Drayton, associate minister at Rock of Jesus.
State Sen. Les Miller, who is running for the U.S. House, came to Bethel Metropolitan on Wednesday to boost the pastors and reiterate his interest in what they are doing.
In 1997, Miller's son Les Miller III was shot at a party in Tallahassee. He survived, graduated from Florida A&M and became a police officer in Tampa.
But the episode still hits home for the elder Miller.
"That's the senseless stuff we're trying to combat," he said.
Peterman crafted a bill during the Legislature's most recent session that creates a council on the status of African-American men and boys. Its members will look at homicide rates, arrest rates, poverty, drug abuse and school performance.
But ending the violence takes more than government, Peterman suggested.
"We're trying to fight the issue from the church's perspective," he said.
The clergymen have scheduled events through August. They include going into neighborhoods door to door and organizing mentoring and counseling.
Is there concern that residents might react in a negative way?
Said Deacon Gershom Faulkner of Souls Harvest Fellowship:
"Lots of citizens are looking for someone to stand up." He is a resident of Childs Park.
Swisher, one of the mothers who took to the streets, said she welcomes the coming of the clergy.
"I believe they're following my lead," she said.
"That's basically what I'm trying to do, is bring people together."