A.G. Gancarski
The idea was to get men to be in the halls at the start and the end of the school day, as well as during lunch, to ensure that there were no fights at schools where there was a preponderance of at-risk young men.
Was it a success? Absolutely.
Though they only got 62 men to sign up and become part of the process in May, that committed group was able to ensure that no fights happened in the schools that routinely get negative publicity on the news for being hotbeds of violence.
And with the new school year about to start, Guns and other pastors, including John Allen Newman, Rudolph McKissick Jr., and Jeffrey Rumlin, and other community stakeholders (such as Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams, and Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti) are renewing their call for 1,000 men to be present at schools where they are most needed during the first week of classes.
At a Monday press conference promoting the Monday evening gathering at Bethel Baptist Church in Downtown Jacksonville, Guns noted that the focus would be on fourteen schools that are “filled with at-risk young people, particularly young men.”
They would be committed to be present over the long haul, he added.
“The power of this is that it moves us beyond the individual,” Guns continued, “to create a collective voice.”
How collective? Beyond the city’s leading politicians and Christian ministers, the Nation of Islam would also be present, as the city “moves beyond boundaries and barriers.”
“At the end of the day,” Guns continued, “when people think this is a symbolic event, they have no clue.”
“This is not a black thing, not a Northside thing,” Guns added. “Everyone is welcome” to join this initiative that “transcends narrow boundaries.”
Bishop McKissick, who presides over Bethel, spoke also, about being “excited to host” the event “at the mother church of the city.”
Meanwhile, Rumlin underscored the importance of the initiative providing a “male presence to just be there and keep things calm” and continue the positive momentum of May’s work.
In the end, Guns got the last word in, and it was aimed at the haters.
“If you care, you’ll come. If you’re indifferent, stay home,” he said. “There are plenty of men who believe in this.”
Bishop Guns’ initiative has spanned the two most recent mayoral administrations, and during the call to action in May, former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown gave an impassioned speech in which he asked the question if this is an emergency, where’s the 911 response?
Brown, whose approach to stump speeches often hearkened back to the black Baptist pulpit, spoke about these issues with immediacy and urgency. Mayor Curry, whose theology is closer to the N.T. Wright Episcopalian model, lacks that fire and brimstone approach. What he shares with the former mayor, however, is a commitment to ensuring that these young men who dangle on the precipice between being “at-risk” and the gaping maw of the prison-industrial complex have a chance at recourse.
Curry and Williams, in addition to appearing at Monday evening’s event, have already committed to participating in the “One City One Jacksonville Leadership Academy.” Additionally, word is that Curry will spend time with at-risk youth on Tuesday at City Hall, including former gang members.
What is clear is that the political establishment in Jacksonville recognizes that for this to be “One City One Jacksonville” it is necessary to reach across the barriers that for too long have been treated as a matter of course.
“Mayor Curry has said many times that urgency, accountability, and love will transform this city. He is committed to working for resources, to getting in trenches with kids to let them know we love them and care about them. Programs like Bishop Guns’ Call for 1000 Men and tomorrow’s meeting here at City Hall are concrete examples of how One City, One Jacksonville is a working to lift our young people up,” Bill Spann, spokesman for Curry, said on Monday afternoon.
