Viewpoint

viewpoint The Surge in Violence Affects Us All

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” ~Desmond Tutu

[ by donnie tuck ]

Between March 2020 and April 2021, the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, every city in Hampton Roads experienced an uptick in violent crime. According to a January 4, 2021, 13Newsnow report: “Hampton Roads had alarming homicide numbers in 2020. The year proved to be a deadly one with most cities in the area seeing an increase in murders, some cities even doubled their numbers from 2019. Portsmouth Police said they investigated 34 murders in the city, which is more than a 50% increase from 2019. Norfolk had 48 murders in 2020 compared to 37 in 2019. The largest city in the state, Virginia Beach, recorded 17 homicides in 2020, while Chesapeake Police said 16 murders happened there. On the Peninsula, Newport News Police investigated 25 murders in 2020 and in 2019. A spokesman for Hampton Police Division said they had 20 murders in 2020.” Sadly, the majority of the victims of the homicides were black males between the ages of 15 and 34. A 2019 Centers for Disease and Prevention report found that although black men and boys ages 15 to 34 make up just 2% of the nation’s population, they were among 37% of gun homicides that year. The perpetrators were also black males, predominantly within the same age group.

Just because you are not directly affected by gun violence does not mean you should dismiss or ignore those who are the most affected.

In early 2021, there was a fourday period in the City of Hampton that saw three shootings, two stabbings and two homicides. A resident emailed me and asked if Hampton was a safe city for his young family. I responded that while the violent incidences were both alarming and disturbing, they were also an aberration. The fact is most shootings in our cities are not random but involve individuals who are known to each other and have victims who do not cooperate with the police in helping to solve the crime. For almost 30 years, I have attempted to call attention to the violence in Hampton and the region: • In 1991, I organized a city-wide prayer vigil in hopes that “inspired by prayer, church members may be moved to take a more active role in the fight against drug abuse and random violence through evangelism and volunteer work.” (Lisa Daniels, Daily Press,

November 9, 1991) • In a 1993 letter to the editor, I asked

“where are the public outrage and protests over the murder of the 18-year-old on the basketball court in Newport News and the rape and stabbing death of a woman in her home in the East End? Or with regard to any of the other murders and maimings of African-Americans by other African-Americans in this area or across the country?” (Daily

Press, April 12, 1993) • Between 1996 and 2007, I served as a mentor to two fifth-grade boys and was a foster parent on two different occasions to three boys aged 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old when they came to live with us. • At a men’s breakfast in the early 2000s, then-Hampton Circuit

Court Judge Wil Taylor told those gathered, “You can go into any middle school in the City and there are those who can tell you the students who are most likely to end up in the criminal justice system. If you want to make a difference in a young person’s life, middle school is probably your last opportunity.”

Following that breakfast, I recruited 25 men from the church to serve as mentors to five boys identified by the assistant principal at a local middle school. Unfortunately, before we implemented the program, many of the men found reasons not to participate. • In early 2018, Hampton’s former

Police Chief informed the City

Council that “we cannot arrest our way” out of the problem of gun violence. As a result, in May 2018, as Mayor of the City of Hampton, I invited the pastors of 46 Hampton congregations to a meeting called

“Macedonian Call.” The purpose of the meeting was to partner with local churches in a “local missions” focus to combat the violence in our

City. Only 12–15 pastors responded and regularly attended the monthly meetings pre-Covid. • On July 29, 2019, Hampton Vice

Mayor Jimmy Gray and I held the first of several “Mayor’s Gun

Violence Prevention Roundtables” with youths, non-profits, and

“Returning Citizens.” The topics for that first meeting were: 1. Why are our young people carrying guns? 2. What are the most important

gaps in services for young people in our communities? 3. In the wake of a traumatic event (when our young people may be experiencing trauma, feeling rage, and/or want to seek revenge), how do we design and introduce services in a way that the young person is likely to receive and take advantage of the services? • On April 12, 2021, I hosted a

Facebook Live town hall that featured a discussion among

Hampton Roads mayors about the level of gun violence we were experiencing in our respective cities, its causes, and how we could address it. While Hampton has hosted annual regional

PHOTOS COURTESY CITY OF HAMPTON, VIRGINIA

symposiums on youth and young adult violence prevention since 2016, the town hall marked the first time in the region’s history that mayors from the area’s seven largest cities met to discuss this critical topic. • On April 1, 2022, following a request by Virginia Beach Mayor

Bobby Dyer and myself, the

Hampton Roads Planning District

Commission (HRPDC) convened a roundtable of mayors and city and county administrators to discuss the region’s continued increase in shootings and homicides. While one size will not fit all, it is hopeful this regional collaboration will result in a set of violence reduction best practices that can be compiled and implemented in each locality. “The cycle of violence is brutal, self-reinforcing and yet another perpetuator of poverty in our most disadvantaged communities. When violence is commonplace, schools cannot properly educate children who are in fear; parents keep their children inside out of fear for their safety; medical professionals cannot fully address the direct and indirect consequences of violence; enrichment activities suffer; and businesses and those residents who can leave flee.” (Essay by Nick Cotter, Public Source, July 27, 2019) In closing, I noted earlier that Hampton is a very safe city for the vast majority of residents. However, just because they are not directly affected by gun violence does not mean people should dismiss or ignore those who are the most affected. Black lives are not expendable. Yet, too many people who could help create safer, more hopeful outcomes for young black males have chosen to sit on the sidelines. As mayors, we need to help our residents understand that, while gun violence does not affect city residents equally, it carries heavy emotional, social and economic costs that do affect all of us.

Donnie Tuck has served as a member of the City Council for 12 years, the last six as mayor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in public policy studies from Duke University and master’s degree in public administration from Old Dominion University. He has worked for the thenWashington Redskins, Howard University, Duke University, the City of Norfolk, and was most recently working as a technical writer.