Black leaders in Akron are looking for solutions to youth violence, they said, after a late-night mass shooting last week injured more than a dozen young people.
"Just last week, right here at Mason CLC (Community Learning Center), a tragedy occurred where there were five individuals that were struck by gunfire, another 10 individuals that were hit, struck or ran over by vehicles," Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy Jr. said at a press conference Monday, "and we're in the aftermath of just trying to sort through what that tragedy looks like."
Murphy and other members of 100 Black Men of Akron, whose primary focus is on mentoring youth, asked for community collaboration to prevent incidents like the mass shooting.
"We need tangible investments and programs, sustained funding for safe spaces and committed mentorship for our youth," 100 Black Men of Akron President Eufrancia Lash said. "We need you to open your doors, share your resources and demonstrate for our young people that they are not forgotten."
Although incidents of youth violence are at about the same level as last year, the intensity of the violence is growing, Murphy said.
"It seems like the magnitude of some of these incidents is picking up, effecting more people, more victims, the number of gunshots and the rounds that are out there - those things seem to be increasing," he said.
Murphy is encouraging more in the community to join the cause, he sad.
“I think we can expand our capacity to offer services to the community by having more members," he said.
100 Black Men of Akron is expanding its leadership academy, which supports young men in grades 5-12, to more Akron Public Schools, Murphy said.
"We're currently working to adjust our curriculum as well to add more of a focus on conflict resolution, to add social emotional learning, to include emotional intelligence," member Edward Smith said. "These skills are used to resolve conflicts without resulting in violence."
Smith is asking other community groups to help, he said.
“We would love to partner with more organizations in Akron who share our call to action to stop the violence," he said.
Lash is looking for more partnership with the city too, he said.
"What I'm asking for from the city is greater collaboration for us to reduce the silos that exist in and throughout the city, for us to come together in unity and work together to resolve or decrease this unnecessary senseless violence that we've seen here over the last several years," he said.
100 Black Men of Akron is planning to host a mentoring summit soon to bring stakeholders together to discuss solutions, Smith said.
"We're not standing here saying we have all the answers. We're looking for the answers. That's why we're here today," Lash said. "We're looking for the answers, but we're also looking for collaborative engagement from other organizations, political leaders, faith-based communities that can assist us in this effort. So we can reach those individuals."
