Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman
♦ I’ve received a lot of correspondence in the last couple of weeks from people who are angry, tired, and frustrated about the level of violence and gunplay in our City. In a four day span last weekend and earlier this past week, the number of shootings was ridiculous. I’m just as tired too and I shared that frustration at our City Council meeting last week in a video on the Rowan Free Press.
That meeting wasn’t the first time I’ve shared my concerns. As a regular citizen back in May 2015, I attended a City Council meeting and shared similar words. I said this City was at a tipping point with violence and people with the City came down on me for saying it. A few weeks later, it tipped over.
I’ve been a constant voice for improvement since 13 year old Treasure Feamster was killed back in 2008 in gang crossfire. Her murder made it into an article published in the NY a Times. A lot of people jumped on an emotional bandwagon, used it for photo ops, squandered gang grant money, and then hopped right back off after doing nothing.
In 1996, I led a City sponsored West End revitalization effort that partnered with them to fight against gangs, drugs, and boarded up and dilapidated homes. In 2016, we’re still focusing on those issues with little progress. Why?
I don’t think the City has taken the gang and gun violence serious enough. The actual incidents of violence are not being reported and I’ve been criticized for speaking out about them for fear it will smear the reputation of our City. Yeah, that’s what you should be more worried about.
Salisbury High was on lock down two days this week and from messages I’ve received from upset parents, this is a normal occurrence. These parents have told me they’re angry and afraid for their children’s safety. Instead of suppressing information and getting upset with folks for speaking out honestly, work to stop the bullshit violence that’s creating the fear and frustration.
We can’t wait for or expect the City, the Police or anyone outside the Community to come in and solve this issue. We have to own it. So, I pose the questions, what are we going to do and how much longer do we wait to do it?
