NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) – “We are calling on Black men to take the initiative to re-claim the hearts and souls of our young men,” Bob Law, New York State Local Organizing Committee co-chairman, told a gathering of men, women and youth on May 5. The occasion was a community rally called by the Millions More Movement in New York City, which was held at P.S. 35 in Brooklyn.

“We sent out an S.O.S., calling Black men together to Save-Our-Sons. We intend to mobilize upwards of 10,000 Black men; Organize them into one group called the ‘Peackeepers’–allowing the young Black men on the street to see some Black men who look like what grown men should look like,” Mr. Law explained, taking a poke at the way today’s Black youth dress.

After attending the follow up meeting held May 22, Mr. Law told The Final Call that “More and more organizations are signing on for our mobilization towards a community summit in June; and then we will take to the street.”

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Captain Dennis Muhammad, founder of ENOTA (Educating Neighborhoods to Obey Those in Authority), delivered the keynote address in which he told the audience, “We did not bring you here to waste your time,” and said he was tired of the usual rhetoric.

“We have to turn away from the rhetoric to action,” Capt. Dennis stressed, receiving a round of applause from the audience. He also said that now was the time for all of the organizations to join together to change the environment in the Black communities and then told the audience to ask themselves the following question: “What have we done with the time God has given us?”

“We need comprehensive strategies; and we do not have to go far to find the needed help. Our communities are made up of great programs,” Capt. Dennis stated.

As a result of the S.O.S., organizations came not only from Brooklyn, but also Chicago and New Jersey.

Enoch Muhammad represented a Chicago-based program called Hip-Hip Detox, which uses “theatrical spoken word” as an “antidote to heal the minds of the people.”

De Lacy Davis, a former police sergeant and founder of Black Cops Against Police Brutality, came to offer insight from his vantage point gained through his work at the East Orange P.A.L. “It is important to show support when such an S.O.S. is put out,” Mr. Davis said, explaining his attendance at the May 5th meeting. “There is a civil war in the streets; and we all understand that New York is at a critical juncture.”

“The bleeding will stop in New York when Black men collectively embrace the spirit of the commitment of the Million Man March,” Mr. Davis told The Final Call.

In November 2006, a daily give-away-newspaper, AM New York, reported that the 75th Precinct in East New York, predominately populated by Blacks and Latinos, “statistically” was the “most dangerous in the city.” The 75th precinct led in rapes, robberies, assaults and murders, with 26 having occurred by that time. In total, New York City’s murder rate was 579 in 2006, compared to 539 in 2005.

AM New York quoted Mayor Michael Bloomberg as saying that “more than 50 percent of all gun arrests involved young offenders.”

The New York Sun reported in December that a Juvenile Justice think-tank in Manhattan, which is run by the Correctional Association of New York, stated that there was a “13 percent increase” in the number of juveniles admitted to secure facilities in New York State in 2005.

“We have the means by which to stem the tide; turn our communities around; [and] create a mindset which is of value to our people. I have a broad vision for the Millions More Movement,” Mr. Law said. He said there is now in place a “powerful” network of organizations.

Capt. Dennis Muhammad stated that those who were volunteering to be part of the Peace Makers must first undergo self-defense training along with CPR and other life-saving skills.

Other organizations that took part in the May 5 meeting were: Roots Revisited, a college awareness project; Brooklyn Ballers, a Big Brother mentoring program; The Brooklyn Male Involvement Consortium, an organization which runs various programs to help Black men re-connect with their families and communities; and a dynamic all-media presentation on the realities of going to jail by Lorenzo Steel, a retired New York Corrections officer.

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