David C. Barnett: The scene is all too familiar: a crowd, clutching candles in styrofoam cups, gathers in front of a storm fence, decorated with memorial messages for a slain Cleveland teenager. The parents of Danesha Sharp called for this vigil in the memory of their daughter who was stabbed during a street confrontation, this past Friday. Anti-crime activist Khalid Samad, just back from an urban violence summit in Philadelphia, leads the service.
SAMAD: We got to stop the madness in our community. You, see, because this was an act of madness.
David C. Barnett: A Muslim by faith, Samad sounds like a baptist preacher as he bemoans the senselessness of Demesha's death.
SAMAD: It starts in the head, then it gets in your attitude, then your attitude becomes your behavior, and then we gotta come here and stand here and cry and shed tears with this family.
David C. Barnett: Danesha's grandmother Cheryl Wagner tells the crowd that funeral preparations are underway, and someone starts passing a hat around to take donations while a group of women break into an old "pass the plate" song, "Give It In Jesus' Name"
David C. Barnett: As the vigil comes to an end, Samad admits that it's going to take more than religious persuasion to bring any semblance of peace to the neighborhood.
SAMAD: Well, you know, it's gonna have to come from the streets. That's why we're here. It's got to come from the pulpit, the church, the mosque, the temple, the radio stations and the TV. And we have to force the hand of those who exploit the pain and the suffering of our young people by glorifying violence and by sensationalizing something that's very painful, like this.
David C. Barnett: As if to illustrate the point, some passing car speakers, pulse with death dirges. And then, there are the area stores selling jewel-encrusted replicas of skulls... and guns... as the latest bling to wear on your belt buckle. This Saturday, the Reverend Al Sharpton has been invited to speak at a "Stop the Violence" rally on Public Square at Noon, sponsored by Samad's group,Peace in the Hood, along with the Cleveland NAACP and Sharpton's National Action Network. David C. Barnett, 90.3.