GUN VIOLENCE, ONE WEEK AT A TIME:

Enhancing educational opportunities, career outlooks, rates of home ownership, cultural engagement and enrichment, and access to family and community resources for North Omaha residents (and over time, greater Omaha) are all key tenets of the Empowerment Network’s ‘7-Step Plan’ to date, drawing together nearly 500 organizations to enact it. Omaha 360 was, in part, born from one of the plan’s primary goals: “living in a safe and secure community.” The model has proven highly effective toward this end, garnering national headlines in 2023 for notching steady progress in its fight against violent crime where many major cities h ave stalled.

“I think that speaks volumes to the culture that’s been created. Early 2000s, especially with a violence-displaying felon ramming vehicles, things like that, there was a time period where officers would’ve discharged weapons; that’s one column, for years now, on not the way we do business,” affirmed Lt. Marcus Taylor of the Omaha Police Department, concluding his report detailing an armed carjacking suspect who’d struck OPD cruisers in a an effort to escape arrest. “We were glad to see that end with a peaceful resolution really happy to see it wa s peaceful.”

Lt. Taylor reported on behalf of the OPD’s Gang Activity and Prevention Unit, while officers representing the Northeast and Northwest Precincts, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, shared details similar o ccurrences.

The briefings centered on youth gun violence, Omaha hardly immune to the devastating upswing in youth-related crime nationwide part of a 50% increase in gunfire-related deaths in those 18 and under between 2019 to 2021, per an April report by the Pew Research Center. While the news is often grim, it’s this transparency between authorities and residents, among other reforms recommended in 2015, that’s born an inverse statistic: a 50% decrease in complaints against O maha police.

The meeting concluded on a positive note, preparing for July’s 24th biennial Native Omaha Days Festival and Parade a weeklong celebration of the history, culture, and community spirit of North Omaha with security measures and volunteers fr ont of mind.

“Thank you Willie and thank you Omaha 360,” began Native Omaha Days Organizing Committee spokesperson Vicki Quaites-Ferris. “Again, if it were not for the collaboration established, probably back in 2008, between Omaha 360 and the Northeast Precinct, the parade and Native Omaha Days celebrations would not be ne ar as safe…”

Oma ha 360, 2008

“Let me back up a little bit. I moved to Omaha in 2000,” Barney said. “Before that, I kind of moved around the country, looking at different things that were happening primarily in the African American community. I had a chance through my corporate job to travel to Chicago and Miami and New York and LA…and no matter what I saw, it was pretty consistent that our communities were left behind. And because of that, poverty, unemployment, and in many cases, gun violence, was concentrated in some of these c ommunities…”

Over a period of years, I started to track the data and do research and look at different models. I started to have conversations […] to figure out how to work together to improve some of these conditions. So we started to have some meetings around in the Black community as far as how we could work together. We met for the better part of nine months […] and we launched the Empowerment Plan in April of 2007. In July of 2007, we had, I think it was 42 shootings in 30 days. So we had this huge plan and strategy long term for working with the community but we recognized really quickly that we weren’t going to be able to do a whole lot unless we addressed specifically the gu n violence.”

Barney credits author George Fraser and then-Senator Barack Obama as powerful influences that “led up to me finally stepping out in faith to move on it.” While meetings still began at 2pm, the 24th and

Lake Street setting was modest, with just seven individuals convening under the more general Violence Intervention Prevention Group. However, by 2008, the assembly had swelled to more than 30 members, and Barney tapped the Omaha Home for Boys for additional space. Perhaps inspired by the fanning, lecture hall arrangement, the name “Omaha 360” was officially adopted in Janu ary 2009.

As Omaha 360 matured, Barney approached and implored the Omaha Police Department to attend. With the help of “a few key people,” including Deputy Chief John Ewing, Chief Tom Warren, and Sergeant Teresa Negron, OPD got on board though not without some convincing.

“Initially, when I said [to Chief Warren],‘We need you to come to a community meeting,’ he said, ‘I don’t really want to do that, because typically when the police department comes to a community meeting, we’re to blame and we get the fingers pointed back and forth, so I don’t necessarily want to,’” Barney explained. “I asked him if he’d just give me a chance to facilitate a meeting where we think we can make it more productive, and eventually he agreed. And that’s exactly what happened […] and because of that, it started to build relationship a nd trust.”

Lt. Taylor a 19-year veteran with the force and cofounder of the Black Police Officers Association of Omaha recalls these early years vividly. The intensity and scale of violent crime and the disconnect between law enforcement and residents were in s harp relief.

“Going back to the history, during that violent time period…I was in the gang unit at that time, and that time was a different era in Omaha,” Taylor said. “There was a lot of mistrust, and I think that was due to a lack of relationships, and just even culture-wise how we went about policing. You know, it was just different.”

As police attendance became regular, and tough conversations steeled the resolve of officers and community members in kind, a newfound alliance took shape.

“One of the biggest things I’d credit 360 and the Empowerment Network for, is the power of collaboration and synergy realizing we all wanted the same goals, we all had the same big heart for the community, and we wanted this community to be safe,” Taylor said.

Today, the impact of the collaborative can’t be overlooked. The city’s homicide rate plummeted to a 20-year low in 2018 at 4.5 homicides per 100,000 people, as compared to 2007’s 10.3 per 100,000 and Omaha Police Department data revealed shooting victims more than halved between 2009 and 2022. Whilst the aftershocks of the COVID pandemic saw a spike in activity, percentages of total violent crime are down 15% from last year as of June 2023.

Taylor attributes much of this success to a more “holistic” approach to policing, counting “probation officers, faith leaders, and volunteers”as essential to the tra nsformation.

“Our homicide rates are still at 100% clearance rate, and that’s not a police stat, that’s a community sta t,” he said.

On whether Omaha has uncovered a ‘sweet spot’ in the hard versus soft on crime debate, Empowerment Network Vice President of Community Collaboratives Jonathan Chapman emphasized nuance and the varied, often conditioned notions surroundin g the issue.

“When people come to 360 for the first time, they very clearly have one perspective that oftentimes is very negative. And we live in a day and age where a lot of people’s perceptions are determined by their consumption of media,” Cha pman noted.

“But what usually ends up happening is when somebody comes to 360 […] you can see their perception begin to change when they really begin to understand the level of collaboration that exists her e in Omaha.”

Omaha Police Department’s Public Information Officer, Lieutenant Neal Bonacci, concurred.

“It’s not just North or South Omaha, there’s people from West Omaha. There’s faith based leaders, there’s all sorts of different people from all different backgrounds that’s the beauty of it,” Bonacci added. “I think that’s the difference between what Omaha is doing and a lot of other major cities where you are seeing these spikes and upward trend s in crime.”

While strengthened relations between residents and officers has been pivotal to Omaha 360’s efforts, the police department is one of many voices, and eyes, that enable the collaborative’s sweeping yet dexterous hand in preventing violence. Omaha 360 Director Ricky Smith empathized that the model can’t thrive i n isolation.

“It’s important that all the partners understand, maybe even the new cities coming to the table, it’s not just 360. You have to have a foundation, you have to have an Empowerment Network. You can’t just have one small piece and make it work,” he said. “You’ve got to have that foundation where people know that they can come to, and trust you’re working in several different capacities in several areas.”

Weekly meetings mean 360 attendees can confront more than annual or monthly trends, but identify at-risk youth in near realtime, quickly connecting them to individuals and/or organizations uniquely positioned to help. For some, that means enrolling in educational, leadership, and career advancement organizations like Step-Up Omaha! or the Omaha Youth 360 program launched last year. For those already mired in the criminal underworld, programs like YouTurn sec ond chances.

The latter is overseen by the aforementioned Teresa Negron, who now serves as YouTurn’s executive director since 2019 after retiring from her role as an OPD homicide detective after nearly 23 years on the force. The nonprofit utilizes the Cure Violence Global Health Model, which takes an epidemiological view of violence like a physician diagnosing and treating an infectious disease. Mediation and conflict resolution, school and community outreach, and one-on-one case management are just a few of the methods employed to reach ‘highest risk’ individuals (those already involved or likely to become involved in gang or regular crimina l activity).

“My whole team does canvassing, but part of the street team’s goal is they’re going to hotspots where things are actively happening,” she explained. “When there’s a shooting that happens in our target area, within 24 hours our team is there onsite, talking to people, doing the things that we need to do to try to bring the temperature d own, right?”

In addition to overseeing YouTurn’s street, school, and conflict mediation teams, Negron has remained involved with the Empowerment Network and as one of the original liaisons between the OPD and the collaborative , Omaha 360.

“I think of Omaha 360 as a networking opportunity for all these different, freestanding organizations to come together and have discussions,” Negron continued.

“When we first started, the police department would come in and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got this area that’s a hotspot,’ and Omaha 360 would get a ‘neighborhood champion,’ that would say ‘Hey, we’ll be the champion for people to meet, talk to law enforcement’…the community could express themselves about what was happening in their specific neighborhood, and solutions came out of that. [Then determining ] which organization has the ability to do whatever the need was, right? And that’s the beauty of Omaha 360 it’s commu nity-driven.

“You have to have a place, and you have to have facilitators for the conversations that are taking place and kind of put them together in one bucket, and that’s the beauty that I always see in Willie Barney,” she said. “When you have somebody like that, that can take what’s being said, we can figure out who’s doing what, and we can wrap their arms around whatever the situation is…that’s the beauty of it, and that’s the import ance of it.”

Om aha 360 202X

As a source of inspiration behind the formation of Omaha 360, it’s only fitting that former President Barack Obama has taken stock of the initiative’s triumphs. In 2023, the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance initiative proclaimed Omaha one of four ‘Model Cities’ in the US, having reached one of six MBK Milestones: “Remaining Safe From Violent Crime.” As a result, Barney was invited to Chicago to partake in an “Impact in Action” panel in May one of four representatives to join the former President on stage.

“First of all, as an individual, he’s everything that you see; he knew us inside and out. He had done his research; he knew about Omaha, he knew what we were doing together, the impact…” Barney recalled. “His focus, and what he’s reinforced, is that he wants to see results, he doesn’t just want to hear the positives. He wants to see results about real change. And so, being on the stage with him, and being a part of that collaborative conversation with him and other cities, it was very, very encouraging. And I think it pushes us to go even further, realizing that other cities are really looking to us.”

Though a landmark achievement, Barney understands that it’s only the beginning and that Omaha is up to the challenge.

“We want to be the first city in the country they have six milestone areas we want to be the first in the country that is exceeding in all six areas: violence prevention, graduation rates, our young people having jobs and opportunities and careers, reading efficiency at third grade, all those components,” Barney said. “Sitting on that stage, it just really encouraged that the fire has always been there. But it just took it to a whole new level when you get recognized by a President of United States, a global leader, is saying that this is a good thing.

“We believe in it as a matter of fact. It’s showing what’s possible.”

Visit empoweromaha.com /omaha-360/ for more information.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DESIGN BY RACHEL BIRDSALL

In an interdependent web of creativity and capital, art collectors and patrons like Duane and Monte Thompson of Omaha, and Robert and Karen Duncan of Lincoln, support individual artist practices and sustain gallery-museum activities.

“Every metro art scene is an ecosystem, consisting of makers, presenters, and an audience. Within that audience, collectors play a vital role in creating a healthy environment in which the arts can flourish,” Omaha curator Janet Farber explained. “Collectors purchase art directly from artists or galleries. Many provide vital financial support and board leadership for museums and art centers, as well as help them build their permanent holdings through donations of artwork. Some generate additional opportunities for artists, offering residencies, commissions, locations, [and] c onnections.”

“Collectors, galleries and artists are what make the whole thing work,” added Gallery 1516 owner, Patrick Drickey. “Here we recognize that collectors are probably the most important part of th at triad.”

As with the Thompsons and Duncans, Farber said, “Collecting does not start out as a goal, but happens more or ganically.”

For serious collectors like these, it becomes a lifestyle and avocation. The couples do their own acquiring and curating, often becoming intimately involved in artists’ lives in t he process.

“The highlight of our collecting experience is getting to know the artist and the art community,” Robert Duncan said. “They are among our closest friends. We get great satisfaction out of knowing and conversing with artists, collectors and people in the arts field. It’s a wonderful experience and really one of the driving forces of our desire to collect.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if out of our collection there’s at least 500 artists that we know. We’re the sort that gets to know the artist and sees their work over a period of years before we even commit to a purchase, so it’s not unusual to have a long relationship before we bring it t o fruition.”

There are occasions they do buy from an artist they don’t know, Karen said, “But we’ve been known to get in touch after and ask if we can meet. That, we do a lot, and it works out well in enduring f riendships.”

The same holds true for the Thompsons. One of the first artists they got to know was the late Omaha realist Ke nt Bellows. For a 2010 Bellows retrospective at Joslyn

Art Museum, curators drew on work held by the Thompsons and others, further elevating the Bellows name. Such representation in key galleries and private collections raises an artist’s profile, and potentially increases their w orks’ value.

Drickey said artists know the importance of getting their work into “a good collection that’s how their legacy moves forward.”

For collectors, it’s not always about monetary value.

“There’s really joy in knowing the person who creates something that is very appealing, attractive to you,” Duane Thompson noted. “Each relationship we have with an artist starts with buying a piece of their art.”

“They become friends, they become important in our life,” Monte Th ompson said.

“Once the piece of art is in your home, it’s sort of a constant high” Duane said. “You can look at it every morning and still get a rush like when you bought it. It’s also great to think about the artist and maybe the conversation you had with him or her. Having been collecting for 50 some years, it’s also being grateful for having known artists who are no longer with us but they are certainly present when we look at their work on our walls or in our dis play cases.”

The Thompsons have been Old Market devotees since Ree (Schonlau) Kaneko’s original Craftsman Gallery, where they acquired many of their functional ceramic pieces. Through her evolution as an arts administrator with the Bemis, and later the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Thompsons remained supportive, serving on the first Bemis board and collecting works by some of its resid ent artists.

The Thompsons and Duncans display much of their eclectic collections at their respective homes. Look in any direction or room at the Thompson’s Blackstone co-op residence and paintings, drawings, pottery, and sculptures are never more than a glance away. They host open houses and parties where their collection takes c enter stage.

“Collectors often function, intentionally or not, as influencers, inspiring others to develop their personal aesthetic sensibilities and discover their own paths to becoming collectors,” Farber said.

“Collecting art can be at any financial level,” Robert Duncan said. “There are beautiful objects for a hundred dollars. You have to go on a quest, you have to find them, you have to find something that speaks to you and then meet the artist.”

When it comes to acquisitions, Robert explained, “Collecting art is always a joint effort. We agree on the pieces we’re going to buy 99.9% of the time. We won’t buy anything of consequence unless we both agree. Our tastes have developed together. Five decades is a long time.”

By now, the couple share the same discriminating eye for what they feel has merit. But they don’t always ge t it right.

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes, too, but we get better and better at it,” Robert confessed. “I think both of us have got a really good eye now to collec t good art.”

As a premiere Midwest collecting couple the Duncans take things to the next level at their classically influenced home in Lincoln designed by London-based architect Dimitri Porphyrios. The eight-yearsin-the-making residence also functions as a gallery with museum-grade lighting, temperature controls, and dedicated art spaces.

The Duncans also display art at their home in Mexico, at the homes of their adult children, and the headquarters of Duncan Aviation, the company Robert founded and headed. Additional works can be found their gallery, The Assemblage, in downtown Lincoln and their Carnegie Clarinda Art Museum in their shared hometown of Cla rinda, Iowa.

“We believe we have an obligation to share our art,” Robert said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to collect it and we want as many people to see it as possible. We really work hard in getting our art out where people can see it and appreciate it.”

The two couples often loan pieces for temporary or touring shows and donate others for charitable auctions.

In addition to purchasing art, the Duncans sometimes sponsor individual artist residencies and have even been known to subsidize artists’ livi ng expenses.

Art stewardship extends to serving on boards. Robert Duncan was recruited by the City of Lincoln to create the Lincoln Public Art initiative.

“Of course, I reached out to this interconnected community to bring people on the board,” Robert said. “I think we’ve brought something like $5 to $6 million worth of art to Lincoln.”

Drickey says the Nebraska Artists Biennial he puts on at Gallery 1516 featuring area artists brings out collectors like the Duncans and Thompsons.

“That has been very successful and it’s really given collectors an opportunity a reason to support a Nebraska artist,” said Drickey, who takes to heart advice from the late Omaha painter, Milton Wolksy. “Buy art because you like it and try to buy it from someone you meet because you’ll create a friend for life.”

The Thompson collection in particular is Nebraska-centric, which makes getting to know arti sts easier.

“We do get involved with artists,” Duane said, including Jun Kaneko mentees Iggy Sunmik and Jes s Benjamin.

Collectors get leads on new artists, Duane observed, by being aligned with galleries like 1516 or the Bemis.

“Then you’re made aware of new artists that come in,” he said. “We belong to Bemis, so whenever a new artist is in residence we’re made aware of that. When they have exhibition openings or open studios we know about it.”

“These wonderful collectors support the artists directly from their studios, at local galleries, and at the annual Bemis Benefit Art Auction, whose participating artists benefit from collectors of all ranges,” said Bemis Chief Curator and Director of Programs, Rachel Adams. “We are thankful for all the collector support, which allows Bemis to continue its support of artists.”

“It’s a small community,” Duane added. “Many of our friends are also interested in art, and when they go to a gallery that maybe we have not been to there’s always good conversation about the work they saw and they encourage us to go see the work ourselves.”

Collectors, whether individually or collectively, make this symbiosis between buyers and makers more than an exchange they make it an environment for art, and local talent, to flourish.

History

STORY BY SOPHIA RIDGE

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN