The Westside is on the Move

In the past two weeks, I have attended a number of community meetings on the Westside that were focused on addressing pressing social issues in our city. The majority of these meetings were held in response to the fact that we have had two murders on DeWitt Avenue in the past seven months, both of which happened steps away from one of our community centers. There also have been three other less publicized shootings in the past two weeks - luckily none of these were fatal.

As I participated in these meetings, I was excited by the growing sentiment of residents and community leaders in these neighborhoods that they “have had enough.” They have had enough of the senseless violence, enough of the drug dealing, and enough of the growing gang problem. These feelings were most evident in the community march and rally that took place this past Saturday afternoon.

It was the 14th annual march in memory of Quiana Dees, a 12-year-old girl that was brutally murdered in 1992. Her killer has never been brought to justice. The march has been organized each year by her mother, Penny Dees. This year the march took on added meaning as Ms. Dee’s was joined by relatives and friends of Jerry Jules, Jakeema Kelly, and Saahron Jones – all murdered in our city within the past seven months.

As the march wound its way though the streets of the Westside, I felt a tremendous sense of solidarity among the marchers. I felt a growing spirit that was saying “we are ready to do the difficult work to take back our streets for our children.” As I walked with them, I was immensely proud to be one of their elected officials. The consciousness of the Westside community has been awakened, a floodgate has been opened, and its people are on the move.

As one of the organizers shared with the crowd as we rallied at City Hall following the march, “This is not an event, this is a MOVEMENT.” I wholeheartedly agree and it is a movement that each and every member of our city should support.