'Where Is Black Lives Matter?': Community Activist Tangela Sears Calls Out Movement's Silence After Rash Of Shootings
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – At a news conference Tuesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava denounced the shootings and mentioned her "Peace and Prosperity" plan, which aims to quell gun violence.
The county is funneling $90 million into youth programs to keep kids off the streets.
A mother who knows gun violence all too well, Tangela Sears, a community activist who lost her son in a shooting, said that money is better spent elsewhere.
"But what about putting some of that money into investigation to be able to meet criteria of the state attorney's office, when they say we don't have enough evidence?" she said. "When are we going to go back? When will we sit down with our mayors and sit down with our investigation team and see what resources are missing? What their needs are?"
Over the past few days, dozens have been wounded in shootings.
Fresh on everyone's minds is the El Mula Banquet Hall shooting, which saw over 20 people shot.
Then there was one guy hanging out of a car window and shooting on a busy street in northwest Miami-Dade.
In Wynwood, seven were shot.
Two were gunned down on Miami Beach.
Two more were shot in Miami's Midtown District, and another two in North Miami.
A website that follows mass shootings – defined as three or more shot – shows eight mass shootings in the last the days.
The worst in Miami-Dade.
Sears said it begs the question: Where is the BLM movement?
"Where is Black Lives Matter? Do Black lives really matter? I'm a victim. We don't have the support that those killed across the nation by police officers have. They don't have that support," she said.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert addressed the county's $90 million for youth programs.
He believes it's the right direction, but it's how the county follows up.
"Our unwillingness to resource solutions in areas only causes it to metastasize and spread. No, it's definitely money well spent. The question is: Are we willing to remain committed?" he said.
The commissioner doesn't question the absence of Black Lives Matter in mass shootings like this. He questions the follow through.
Gilbert, a former prosecutor, said we shouldn't be soft on those who decide to open fire.
"Yes, yes, definitely we should be prosecuting people to the fullest extent of the law. Because if you're willing to visit violence among members your community, you're not a member of that community," he said.