|
They say it takes a village to raise a child. I like to think that it also takes a village to build a thriving community. This week, Memphis expanded our village by 21 mayors and mayoral reps from around the country who joined us for the inaugural meeting of the Black Mayors’ Coalition on Crime at the Hyatt Centric in downtown Memphis. I had the idea for this gathering before I even took office. With the help of our staff, the team at Memphis Tourism, and the African American Mayors’ Association, we brought together a group of the most thoughtful and insightful civic leaders to talk about the issues surrounding public safety and crime in our cities.
  Black Mayors' Coalition on Crime at the Hyatt Centric
Dr. Russ Wiggington of the National Civil Rights Museum expertly facilitated the historic event. The Council on Criminal Justice presented data that helped shape our conversations, and each of the guests shared, questioned, and supported each other through some very powerful and important discussions.
  (Opening reception sponsored by the Black Business Association of Memphis)
The broad goal of our convening was to begin an open dialogue on one of the most pressing issues facing each of our cities. We set out to learn from each other and develop tools to help each of our cities become safer, more welcoming, and stronger. It was noted that national crime data may show decreases in some crime statistics, but if people don’t feel safe, those stats mean little. People must feel safe, and that requires us to find a balance between philosophy and practicality. These issues require immediate action. We simply cannot wait.
 We talked about the importance of data sharing, crime tech, CPTED, and identifying and operationalizing existing institutional programs like Operation Scarlett in Charlotte, Operation GOOD in Jackson, MS, and Operation Heart in Durham. A common theme for the day was that the programs that were working required community buy-in. This echoes what I have been saying right here - we need to mobilize the Faith-based organizations and business community to lead the charge. We need to use the tools we already have to fight blight and disinvestment. And all of us need to own our blocks.
We ended our gathering with a press conference, where we committed to continuing to meet and to using our collective strength to do more, because we are stronger together.
|
