Writers Circle: Gun violence in Cedar Rapids, part 1

On Sept. 21, in the wake of the shooting death of Aaron K. Richardson and the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for the crime, members of The Gazette Writers Circle came together to discuss gun violence in Cedar Rapids. Some of the questions discussed included: Is violence on the rise in Cedar Rapids? If so, do we know why? Is our community unsafe? What are community leaders and institutions doing to change this trend? What would we like them to do? What can average Cedar Rapidians do?

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EXCHANGE GUNS FOR A PAYCHECK

Carletta Knox-Seymour, Writers Circle

The reason people leave their homeland, be it a town, city or country, is to move to a better place. They are looking for a new place that fosters a sense of peace and safety. They are also looking for an environment that gives them hope for a better future and a better life.

Loise Brown, mother of the now deceased Aaron Richardson, had hopes for a better future and a better life for herself and her children. Loise and her children are from Chicago. She told me the story of her dramatic escape when she left her home in Chicago to find peace, to find hope here in Cedar Rapids.

Violence had found itself in the life of Loise. Unfortunately, she became a victim of domestic violence in her relationship with Aaron's stepfather. As many women try to stay in the relationship for the children's sake, oftentimes it just doesn't work.

Finally, that woman gets to a point when she realizes that things never will change, and that's when her life and the life of her children can be put in a very dangerous situation.

That's when the woman has to make a very serious decision: stay or go.

This time Loise chose to go, and not only leave her relationship, but leave the city she grew up in. Loise said, 'I left everything. I left my job, my family, my furniture, my apartment. I left everything, and I came here just so I could be safe.”

When Loise and her children arrived in Cedar Rapids in November 2013, they had little more than the clothes on their backs. With the help of a domestic violence advocate, Loise was able to get her family in shelter and was able to start using programs like HACAP for the homeless and Family Promise.

Family Promise is a unique program in which several churches around the city provide shelter and food at night. Each program has a time limit on its ability to assist families in need, and Loise met and exceeded each program requirement. In a short amount of time Loise was working and her children were in school.

When I asked Loise about coming in for benefits she said, 'What benefits? I got a job as soon as I got in the program. As a matter of fact, I had two jobs.” She works at ADM and said she works hard every day, to the point, she said, that she may not have been paying a lot of attention to Aaron because she works so many hours to provide for her family.

Loise fled Chicago not only because of domestic violence, but also to save her sons, Troy and Aaron, from getting caught up in the violence there. She wanted to give them hope and a future.

She stated that Aaron had some behavior issues and had been sent to Independence for structure. It was a six-month program, and Aaron successfully completed the program in five months with straight A's. Within days of returning to Cedar Rapids he entered Metro. He went to orientation and attended school for three days until he was fatally shot over the weekend. He never had an opportunity to put his new skills to work.

While Aaron was in Independence, Loise said, 'I knew where he was. Now I'll never see him again.”

Today, many Cedar Rapidians are seeking ways to not let this kind of thing happen again. Clearly, from all accounts, Aaron had changed many of his behavioral issues. However, upon his return from Independence, he unfortunately discovered that his environment had not changed.

There are many forms of violence. The obvious ones are domestic and gun violence. The ones not so easily seen or addressed are poverty, landlord abuse, institutional racism and employment biases.

And there lies our dilemma. How do we give structure to our black teens specifically that will have lasting effects? What must they emulate from our city as a whole in order to have a desire, a drive to want to have a better life? Can we, who have much, give of our time to those who have little?

What about those mothers who are working double shifts in order to provide for their children, who many times need someone to step in and give a helping hand?

As a city, a community of families, what are we really willing to do to make a better Cedar Rapids for all? Are we willing to create jobs for the youth and exchange a handgun for a paycheck? Are we willing to give others a hope and a future, a better tomorrow?

' Carletta Knox-Seymour is a Cedar Rapids city planning commissioner, local branch AAUW president and a board member for Iowans for Gun Safety. Comments: carlettav@gmail.com; (319) 929-5365

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STOP GUN VIOLENCE

Linda Topinka, Writers Circle

On Sept. 21, in the wake of the shooting death of Aaron K. Richardson and the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for the crime, members of The Gazette Writers Circle came together to discuss gun violence in Cedar Rapids. Some of the questions discussed included: Is violence on the rise in Cedar Rapids? If so, do we know why? Is our community unsafe? What are community leaders and institutions doing to change this trend? What would we like them to do? What can average Cedar Rapidians do?

These are all of our children

On Sept. 6 we lost a 15-year-old child to gun violence and a 14-year-old, who may be spending the rest of his life in prison. These are horrific circumstances for the families of these young men and the community. I believe that our community is partly responsible. Although many of us did not know either of the young men, the children who live here are our responsibility.

There are red flags that should have been indicators that our children are in trouble: suicides, school expulsions, gunshots ringing throughout the city for the last several months.

I often hear folks using the African proverb that 'it takes a village to raise a child.” Well, folks, it's time that you stop giving lip service to this concept and take action. James Baldwin once said, ‘'For these are all our children, we will profit by or pay for whatever they become.”

Since these recent atrocities have occurred, our city leaders have formed a think tank to address the violence. I can't help but wonder what strategy is being used to bring the individuals involved in these conflicts to the table.

Actually, there is a think tank that was formed several years ago by young people, for young people. The group's objective is to address problems facing young people of color. Last February, the group hosted an event called Black Lives Matter.

At least two or three city leaders participated on a panel that was part of the event. I am affiliated with the group, and I do not recall any of the city leaders asking these young people if they could be of any assistance in bringing about future events and/or activities that would benefit young folks.

With all due respect to our religious leaders, it is time for you to unite as one force and go to where these problems are festering. I am a Christian and attend church on a regular basis. I believe in the power of prayer. However, I know that in addition to prayer, there has to be action. One of the things I learned at a very young age was that Christ was out among the people, and not all the people were Christ-like.

The violence that is taking place is a call of desperation. Another word for it is depression. The outer layer may look like young people are combating each other because of disrespect, dislike or just plain gang banging. When there are no jobs, racial inequality, families torn apart and mass incarceration, what do you expect? Statistics always have shown a strong correlation between poverty and violence. Young people in general are struggling with a sense of hopelessness, and young black children and their families are dealing with a perplexed legacy of generational traumas that never has been addressed.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the rise of suicide among African Americans. The research stated that suicide was the third-leading cause of death for black males. One of the most alarming statistics in this report was regarding black children between the ages of 5 through 11. The data showed that suicide rates for this young population have doubled since 1992.

These statistics for the young people correlate with the mass incarcerations for black men and women that began to escalate during the same period of time. Although there may be other extenuating factors for this phenomenon, the outcome still is the same.

There is no one group or program that will effectively address the violence. It will have to be a multidisciplinary approach that will need to include law enforcement, the judicial system, educational system, corrections, public health, mental health, religious leaders and parents. There also will have to be financial support. Lastly, but certainly not least, systemic policy and practices that perpetuate racial inequality have to be dismantled before there can be any real change.

' Linda Topinka, a semiretired mental health practitioner, worked as a social worker in the Linn County area for 35 years. Comments: lindatopinka@aol.com

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VIOLENCE IS OUR PROBLEM TO SOLVE

Mark J. Tyler, Writers Circle

Being native Iowans, my wife and I knew that we wanted to return to Iowa after satisfying my postgraduate training and my commitment to the U.S. Air Force.

We knew Cedar Rapids as my wife received her nursing degree through the Mercy program and I enjoyed my time in the Mercy emergency room, the Community Clinic and a month precepting with Dr. Bennett in Marion. We have never regretted that decision. Cedar Rapids is our home. Our children are native Cedar Rapidians.

What we love about Cedar Rapids is its diversity, community and family. I would guess that the metro area has almost doubled in size since we arrived in 1972. As with growth there are growing pains, and we have witnessed that phenomenon recently and collectively. In my opinion, our elected leaders and our city and county employees do a great job ensuring that we continue to enjoy what our home has to offer. Is it perfect? No. Could there be improvements and changes? Yes.

Recent events show we have some work to do and goals to be accomplished. It is not just for our elected officials and our police force to achieve, however. It is incumbent for all of us to examine our thoughts, actions and reactions and work for the benefit of all!

We need to make an effort to establish and continue a dialogue/conversation that clarifies our goals, to correct by word and action untruths and misconceptions, and above all be willing physically and emotionally to be part of the process now and in the future! All lives matter! Collectively, we can ensure that everyone can be heard, understood and appreciated!

God has requested that we love our neighbors as ourselves! Let us begin now with words and actions to fulfill that request.

' Mark J. Tyler is a retired physician living in Cedar Rapids. Comments: editorial@thegazette.com