Several years ago the residents of Phillips were overrun with drug dealers and gang violence. Four children were killed in a six-week period by drug and gang violence. (More Phillips children were murdered during that period than children murdered in Beirut or Belfast during the same period) Arnie Carlson had the highway patrol fly its helicopters down Franklin to highlight the dealers with searchlights. This gave me the idea to demand that the Mayor of Minneapolis set guidelines for a cleanup that would progress a block per week for twelve weeks until the Phillips neighborhood was rid of the problem. We (PNBC) called it "Take Back Our City - One Block At A Time". Sharon Sales-Belton, at a public meeting and news event, promised (according to her, three times) to follow this program. The demand was accompinied by an ultimatum by me that if she did not start this program the neighborhood would ask to be declared a "National Disaster Area". That the flood of crime and gang violence was even more destructive to our community than a Red River flood was to East Grand Forks. More of our buildings were blighted and more of our children killed. She lied about helping us, so when the deadline passed we called a press conference and asked to be declared a "National Disaster Area".
Sharon and the City killed any attempt to actually get FEMA "Disaster Relief", but it did make major stories in the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News (two of the most influential papers in the country), as well as the London Times. Attorney General Janet Reno read the Washington Post Article (according to then US Attorney David Lillehaug) and immediately started mobilizing Federal Agencies to "help" us. Perhaps Don Samuels can start a campaign to have the Jordan Neighborhood declared a disaster area along with some of the old Phillips Neighborhood. Clearly the City does not have either the police resources or the political will to address the disaster that is happening in some of Minneapolis Neighborhoods. The crime and violence has been escalating for the last couple of years and Minneapolis Police resources have declined during the same period. Clearly this is an utter disaster for the impacted neighborhoods. It is even more so for the impacted human lives. Mothers and fathers trying to sleep each night fearful that one of their children might be shot. I have asked this before, but I will ask it again. If it were the children of the Mayor and the City Council that were in danger, wouldn't they consider it a disaster? I ask each one of them to put themselves in Don Samuels's shoes. When the child was shot in his neighborhood I am sure he imagined the horror that would be if it were one of his children. I guarantee for the families of the victims it was not just a National Disaster but also a World Disaster. All the children of every neighborhood of Minneapolis are "OUR" children! We need to do anything possible to protect them. If that means humbling themselves and asking for Disaster relief then the political leaders should do it. If that means biting the bullet and putting on more officers then do it. Do NOT tell us that you do not have the money to do it. You were elected to GET the resources necessary to protect "OUR" children. Now either provide for it or get the hell out of the way and ask for help! Jackie Cherryholmes once yelled down to those of us doing a demonstration that we "Had to show more respect for the City Council". I yelled back even louder "When you start showing more respect for the dead bodies of our children we will start showing more respect for you." The same is true today we need the ENTIRE Council and Mayor to show the respect for our children and neighborhoods that they deserve. All the Mayor and Council have to do is swallow their pride and ask for that status and they qualify for County, State and Federal assistance. What is needed is a coherent, coordinated plan that utilizes ALL necessary resources to put an end to the daily "Disaster" these people live through. On that one block in Jordan there were probably as many Americans shot during that period of time as were shot during the same time period in all of IRAQ. And some don't think we are at War! Jim Graham, Ventura Village >"It is always an utter folly to underestimate the lure and attraction of a great evil. The whitened bones of their victims litter the highways and byways of mankind's history. Stopped only by the few willing to pay the ultimate price and make a stand." - Toe TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
