MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Monday marks the beginning of Campaign Nonviolence Week, a time centered around peace, in a place listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
Memphis and Shelby County leaders are urging people to take charge of their own communities to make the area safer.
But all too often in Memphis, peacefulness is replaced by violence.
Early Monday morning, gunshots rang out in the parking lot of Club Reign in Frayser.
Two people were shot outside the club around 1:30 a.m. The gunman is still on the loose.
WREG spoke with people who said until we change the culture of violence, we cannot hope to change our city.
Jeffery Futrell of Young Men University knows all too well how violence can shape the lives of Memphis youth.
“Violence is a culture,” he said. “So we focus on changing, modifying negative culture.”
He works every day to break down those barriers and reach children before they latch on to the wrong role models.
He said we do that by offering stability.
“So many programs in this city come and go when the money runs out, when the grant runs out. Political agendas and initiatives, they run out. The gangs win by attrition, simply because they stay the course.”
With Memphis ranked the third most dangerous city in America, Futrell said the International Day of Peace is a time for action, not reflection.
“We have to find a way, even with the environment the way that it is, all the things we could point out that are wrong, we have to find the good things and then build upon that.”
The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center said to make our city safer, we also need to improve relationships with our law enforcement, local government and the community.
“They’ve got to know that they can trust the police, that they can trust they’re going to do the procedures the way they were taught,” the center’s Tamara Hendrix said.
But while some call for more policing or more youth programs, Futrell said it is important we acknowledge there is no quick fix.
If we want a safer Memphis, we have to be in it for the long haul.
“If you don’t have skin in the game, in your neighborhood, no matter how humble your abode may be, your home, if you don’t take pride in it, then the community never changes,” Futrell said.
