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| Union of Minority Neighborhoods | 891 Centre Street | Jamaica Plain | MA | 02130 |
Where are the Jobs?
The most difficult issue I have had to face during my ten years as District 7 City Councilor is that of crime and violence, particularly homicides involving youth. Four years ago I asked Darrin Howell, a new staff member, to develop a comprehensive report on homicides within the District as well as the City during the last twenty years.
His report revealed that during the last twenty years, half of the homicides have been of youth between the ages of 14 and 25. Even during the “miracle years” of 1997, 1998, and 1999 when the number of murders dropped in the city from 43 to 35 to 31, the percentages of 14 to 19 year olds killed were at 11%, 31%, and 13%. In 2000 the 13% jumped to 17% and the percentage has continued to climb reaching a peak percentage in 2005 when 27% of the 75 murdered individuals were between the ages of 14 and 19.
During the same years (’97,’98,’99), the percentages of homicides among those from 20 to 25 were 25%, 17%, and 32%. Thus even during the “miracle years”, the percentage of homicides among those from 14 to 25 was in the 40% range. The reality is that despite the a variety of efforts under two different mayors and many different police commissioners over at least the last twenty years, the percentages of homicides among the youth in this city has remained at 40% to 50% with the average being slightly less than 50%.
The other reality in the areas of
A stark reminder of the extent of the youth unemployment problem in Boston was given to the City Council at a hearing in 2008 when a N.U. researcher said that the American Community Survey conducted each year by the Census reported approximately 10,000 young people between 16 and 24 who were out of school and out of work. While the School Department has made significant strides in terms of the dropout rate, the reality is that number of young people in
If we are serious in
While youth homicides in Boston are primarily among Black and Latino youth, I believe the drug overdose/suicide problem for youth particularly in Boston’s white working class communities is tied to a sense of hopelessness in children from those neighborhoods, resulting from the unemployment and poverty they see as the well to do move in while their friends and often families scramble to find places they can afford.
The answer to youth joblessness is a mammoth national government sponsored job creation program. The October 2nd rally in Washington, called by a coalition of civil rights and labor organizations, is designed to focus the attention of the nation on the need for a jobs program not only for our youth but also for our adults who make up the majority of the 17% un and underemployed.
However, we can not wait on
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| Angela, By now you have heard about One Nation Working Together, the historic March on Washington scheduled for 10.2.10. The NAACP will lead a broad coalition to bring America together and put America back to work. But 10.2.10 is just the beginning. The next step comes in November. Are you registered to vote yet? Are your friends and family? This year's elections are shaping up to be as crucial as 2008. As some media pundits attempt to turn back the clock by reopening the "debate" over the Civil Rights Act, the 14th Amendment and affordable health care, we need to stay strong and focused. Most importantly, we need to vote. If you are not registered, you can do it right here, right now. The NAACP has developed Upload 2 Uplift, a new initiative to empower voters with the click of a mouse. Our online tool enables people to register to vote on the web and spread the word to family and friends who are not yet registered: http://action.naacp.org/Upload2Uplift Since its inception, the NAACP has been committed to bringing the fundamental right to vote to every member of the black community. And despite huge strides in voter turnout during the Presidential election, only 69% of African Americans are currently registered to vote, compared to 75% of non-Hispanic whites. Our goal is to register every last voter, to verify every last voter, to mobilize every last voter, and to protect the rights of every last voter because in close elections, every vote counts. But to achieve this goal, we need your help. Tell your networks about Upload 2 Uplift so that this innovative technology can reach the millions of remaining unregistered voters. Once you are signed up for Upload 2 Uplift, a mobile messaging feature will remind you to vote on Election Day. Make sure your voice counts and get started now: http://action.naacp.org/Upload2Uplift We must stay strong and focused. In the last speech Dr. King gave he said, "Nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn back now." We have come too far to turn back. Join us in Washington, DC on 10.2.10 and, most importantly, register to vote. For more than 100 years the NAACP has been working to facilitate change, but it's up to you to make sure change starts at the polls. Thanks for your support, Ben Jealous President and CEO NAACP |
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-- THE END --
OR, IS IT JUST THE BEGINNING? YOU DECIDE!
( Stay tuned, as the struggle continues. )
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Chuck Turner, District 7
City Hall Office--(617) 635-3510 / District Office--(617) 427-8100
Chuck.Turner@cityofboston.gov Angela.Yarde@cityofboston.gov Phillip.Reason@cityofboston.gov
Paulette.Tillery@cityofboston.gov Lorraine.Fowlkes@cityofboston.gov Edith.Monroe@cityofboston.gov
ROXBURY: WARD 8, Pcts 3-4, 7; WARD 9, Pcts 3-5; WARD 11, Pcts 1-3, 5; WARD 12, Pcts 1-9
SOUTH END: Ward 4, Pct 4; Ward 9, Pct 2
FENWAY: Ward 4, Pcts 5, 8-9