Baltimore NAACP leaders say youth violence goes further than setting curfews
BALTIMORE - Baltimore City leaders are working to reinstate curfews for teens, which will start Memorial Day weekend.
But community leaders say teen violence goes a lot deeper.
Rev. Kobi Little, president of the Baltimore NAACP, was at the Baltimore Convention Center Monday, two blocks from where two teens were shot when a large fight broke out Sunday, to promote a dynamic conference set to happen in less than two weeks.
That conference will address issues in the Black community, including violence.
However, when it comes to this pending curfew, Little said it's simply a Band-aid over a deeper wound among our youth.
"A curfew may be a temporary solution for acute situation, but a long-standing curfew does nothing but abridge the rights of those who are abiding by the law and those who have a right to enjoy the city," Little told WJZ.
After police said a large group of teens were involved in a fight Sunday, the Inner Harbor turned into a crime scene. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were injured in a shooting.
"We are deeply concerned about the violence that is gripping our City," Little said. "We know, though, that the violence is the outcome or a symptom of a greater problem."
Rev. Little said the problem with violence among our youth and the string of incidents so far this year go far beyond the surface and require unified commitment from the entire community.
"Part of the issue is, there's a sense of hopelessness," Little said. "A part of the issue is that there is a lack of opportunity. Part of the issue is that there's a lack of adult leadership, and so, we hope to address all of those issues in the coming weeks and months, to build peace in Baltimore."
Little said building that peace means spreading love, building relationships and connections with our youth work that will require all of us to pitch in.
In regards to the details of that curfew, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott spoke about this a little earlier this afternoon and his agency is still working out the logistics and rules of this curfew, including a start date.
