Night Out Against Crime

Tonight I’ll be attending an event for the National Night Out Against Crime. NNOAC has been extraordinarily successful in promoting involvement in crime and drug prevention activities, strengthening police-community relations, and encouraging neighborhood camaraderie as part of the fight for safer streets. Janel (mayor’s press secretary) recommended dropping by the event at Hickory Hollow Mall. The mayor is giving some remarks there and where a march against crime will end in a rally. As mayor, Mayor Dean has set making Nashville safer as one of his top priorities, so this night is very important to him.

The Tennessean reports:

Communities across Nashville and the nation will be taking to the streets tonight in a show of force against crime.

It's the 25th annual National Night Out Against Crime, and the 14th year Nashvillians have taken part with block parties around the city. There are 45 parties planned in Nashville alone, sponsored by community groups and neighborhood watches hoping to foster a better sense of togetherness — with one another and the police.

….One neighborhood that [Metro Police Chief Ronal} Serpas and community leaders say is better than its reputation is using the night to bring attention to a movement against teen violence. Antioch leaders are holding a "Fed Up" march, ending with a rally in the Hickory Hollow Mall parking lot.

"We want to bring the entire Antioch community to fellowship as one, and also let Nashville and the community know that they are fed up about this silliness, these crimes, and also recognize what some of the causes are," said Darrell Walker, overseer of the children and youth ministry at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

The Hickory Hollow event will be heavy on participation from service agencies, offering help to parents struggling to reign in their teenagers, and entertainment to bring families together. Walker hopes it will give purpose to those in need of assistance and serve as a positive example that Antioch is making changes.

If nothing else, the community gathering is a means for the city to speak in one voice that crime is not welcome , Serpas said.

I’m excited to see how it turns out – this is not really anything I’m familiar with in the least bit. I’ve always grown up in the safe suburbs. I don’t say that to brag – that’s just always been my reality. I am not naïve – I KNOW there are many people and children and families out there who have to constantly worry about their safety because their communities are unsafe and that is absolutely terrible. Today I came across a documentary by Nashville Public Radio on kids here in Nashville who live in the ghettos and I got a real glimpse into this whole other world. I cannot even imagine the things they describe – living in fear of gangs, the uneasiness, the feeling of being ashamed of their communities. I get uneasy driving by ghettos but that is where these kids live. Why is that their circumstance, their reality, and not mine? How did I get "lucky" as to have a "better" circumstance? It just doesn't make sense.

The three pictures I included correspond with the comments the kids made about them. Seeing these pictures make me more eager to attend the event tonight, an event that dares to hope that safer streets, better communities, can and should be a reality – a reality worth fighting for because the people deserve better out of life.

Earlier this year, a dozen middle-schoolers spent a couple of months combing South Nashville’s J.C. Napier Public Housing project, armed only with disposable cameras. Their assignment was to document their lives, to highlight problems in their community, and to share these insights with a wider audience. As a result, the kids started to see things in their neighborhood that they’d never noticed before. Including their own power to effect change.

“Pictures, if you look at ‘em hard enough, you can see a story about the picture by the way it looks. Like saying don’t judge us by the way our community looks, stuff like that.”


"Downtown from the Projects"

Implementer 1: What does this photo make you feel?

Youth 1: Lonely…It feels lonely ‘cause the neighborhood is empty. It’s like people should be here. People should be outside…My community and the city are different. This is an uncomfortable place to be in, but the city is a fun place to be.

"Calm Before the Storm"

6th grader

Youth 1: A lot of people don’t go there because they shoot all the time.

Youth 2: Like it could be some kids on the basketball court and some gang members could start shooting and kids run. It’s like violence.

Youth 1: As soon as it gets dark…It’s not a good feeling.

"Can’t Shine"

6th grader

Youth 1: It’s like God saying I’m going to change this because I don’t like the way it look.

Youth 2: Jesus isn’t like that, he’s just invisible.

Youth 1: People afraid to come outside…With the light, it’s like one of the houses of people has full potential, but they can’t shine because of what their community looks like.

Youth 3: In a way I think it’s happy and in a way I think it’s sad. It could change, but people don’t take the time to do it. The housing could be better.

This was my favorite picture. There's light in a dark place. There's still hope shining through the darkness. That's the effect His light has on the world's darkness:

It’s like God saying I’m going to change this because I don’t like the way it look.