After Shootings, 'Black Men Against Violence' Unite
The founder of Black Men Against Violence has some ideas to prevent future violent deaths in Evanston. “If we continue to allow this, black men will become extinct," says Tracey Wallace.
Tracey Wallace tells it like it is.
“I’ll never run for office, because sometimes I get in trouble,” says the recent founder of Black Men Against Violence. “I don’t say what people want to hear. I say what’s on my mind.”
Lately, Wallace has a lot on his mind that Evanston residents — and beyond — need to hear. I spoke to Wallace this weekend, when he told me how the shooting death of 19-year-old Justin Murray spurred him into action.
“The shooting triggered something in me,” Wallace says. “I went from rage to fear.”
Starting on Facebook, Wallace formed a group called Black Men Against Violence. He and others have held several meetings, and now he’s trying to put some of the group’s ideas into practice to end what he describes as a string of black-on-black violence in Evanston. His target? Black parents and kids.
“The school systems aren’t failing our kids: parents are failing to give kids what they need,” says Wallace. “We turn our kids over and expect the schools to take care of everything.”
“But here’s the thing. I’ve never missed a school conference [for my kids]. The disparity of black men at conferences, from kindergarten through high school is [a problem]," he says. "They need to have a vested interest in their kids’ education. It’s their job as parents, and we have to figure that piece out.”
Below, I've summarized the first part of my conversation with Tracey Wallace. Check back on Friday for the second part, when Wallace talks about the specifics of what his group plans to do.
Determined To Make A Difference
The night Justin Murray was killed, Wallace’s son, Max, a freshman at Evanston Township High School, called his father for a ride home from school.
“It was 6:13 p.m. when Max called,” Wallace says, but neither he nor his wife were available to pick him up their son at that time. Just two minutes later, Justin Murray was shot and killed in front of his grandmother’s house at 1818 Brown Ave., a half-block from the high school.
“We live two and a half blocks from the school,” Wallace says, his voice trailing off.
Wallace knew Murray from holiday events and the ETHS Jr. Wildkits Football program, for which Wallace is a coach and assistant director of community relations.
“There was a whole lot of emotion,” he says. "I knew right then I at least have to try. We know this is a part of life, but there’s gotta be a solution, and the approaches we’ve taken so far haven’t worked. I’ve gone to rallies. Marched. Held hands. Attended prayer vigils…but then we go away.”
And Wallace says it’s time to stay.
“Our forefathers stayed and attacked problems,” Wallace says. His intention is to attack the violence in Evanston in the way he knows best: from a business perspective.
“If your business was failing, you wouldn’t hold up signs,” he adds.
A Core Leadership Group
Wallace has formed a board of directors and assembled a group of black, male leaders from different generations and stations in life and created this community facebook page called Black Men Against Violence, which is open to everyone.
“It’s been a powerful group,” Wallace says, referring to their initial meetings. “We’re all hurting. Black men are taught to internalize, but it’s been cathartic to talk, to form an agenda, to form actionable items, and to bond as men.” With a smile in his voice, he adds, “Until now, we’ve tended to talk about three things: cars, sports and women.”
Asked why he formed a group rather than taking another action, Wallace said he just did what he knew how to do. “I really didn’t think about it beyond asking myself, ‘How would I approach this problem, being a black man?’ I also take the professional approach. I’m the director of business services for a staffing firm, so I analyze things and I try to build a better mousetrap. The problem we have is the death of young men who never get to be real men and productive members of society.”
“If We Continue to Allow This, Black Men Will Become Extinct”
Wallace notes the contrast between a community meeting held after 14-year-old Dajae Coleman was shot in September, and recent meetings held following the shooting deaths of Justin Murray on Nov. 29 and Javar Bamberg on Dec. 12.
He recalls seeing 300 to 400 people at the meeting following Coleman’s death, the majority of them white.
“I made a comment there — jaded and cynical as some might say — that a month from now you wouldn’t be able to get ten percent of this crowd together. “Then, there were 30-50 people in the room [talking about] Justin, and for Javar Bamberg there were about 30-40 people.”
Describing himself as a news junkie, Wallace expresses anger that Murray’s murder wasn’t covered by the broader media the way earlier homicides in Evanston were. “Either we’re desensitized,” he says, “or we’re becoming that way.”
He stresses that Evanston residents cannot start to accept violence as a fact of life.
“A very dear friend of mine who’s white and Jewish said to me, ‘You gotta stop saying black men,’” Wallace says. “But if we continue to allow this, black men will become extinct.”
During a town hall meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12, hosted by Peace Pioneers for Evanston, ETHS Director of Safety and former deputy police chief Sam Pettineo reminded the group that nearly 32 years before Justin Murray’s murder, Keith Smith, a black ETHS student, was killed in front of Foster Center (now Fleetwood-Jourdain). Wallace says it was the first “black-on-black” murder in Evanston that he knew of. Pettineo reminded the group that hundreds gathered for a town hall meeting back then to stop the violence.
Since then, Wallace says, “Nothing has changed. The black people have missed that. We preach. People move on. We all do. But somebody has to stay.” Wallace says his newly formed group plans to be there from, as he describes it, “conception to college.”
Check back on Friday to hear some of the actions Wallace plans for Black Men Against Violence.
el debarge
10:39 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mr. Wallace you have done a courageous thing here and need the support of the entire City and especially the black community. Strong leadership that holds Family and education in the highest regard is essential in fighting this rapidly growing epidemic and words cannot be minced.
Please keep the Patch posted so all of us can help.
Lonson Williams
1:28 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The articlestates that Wallace assumes that Murray's killer was African-American.
What evidence is there that this is the case? The EPD has not issued any statements regarding any suspects so either Wallace has internalized the racist assumption that a murderer must be black or he either has some inside information about the crime.
If the latter is the case he should go to the police instead of creating some group.
el debarge
2:37 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Where does the article "state" this assumption? Might you have a plan of your own that you'd care to share with the readers?
Lonson Williams
3:01 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
El debarge, Wallace's assumptions are pretty plain and stated beginning from the third paragraph. The Murray assassination "triggered" something in him and he started the group in response to "end what he describes as a string of black-on-black violence in Evanston." Someone who didn't buy into racist assumptions would be less inclined to assume the race of an unknown murderer and would also be concerned about violence in general--as opposed to racializing it ("black-on black")
My plan would be to have more police presence and targeting of known criminals through property standards, code enforcement, heavy enforcement--basically using any legal means to harass the bad guys and get them to choose to ply their trade somewhere else.
The number of criminals is rather small. Having more police surveillance is key.
el debarge
11:19 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
It is you Lonson Williams making the assumption here. The article did not "state" any assumptions nor did Mr. Wallace. Nevertheless, we all make assumptions constantly in our daily lives and when used rationally and logically can lead us to reasonable conclusions.
In the Murray case, where would you suggest investigators begin thier search for the perpetrator(s)? Perhaps the Samoans?..Hawaiians?..Netherlanders??
Your plan does nothing to address the root causes of violence in the Black Community.
Christine Wolf
3:47 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mr. Williams, the police have repeatedly stated they suspect the shootings involving Mr. Murray and Mr. Bamberg, who are both black, (as well as the uninedentified victim critically wounded on the morning of Mr. Murray's funeral) stem from two extended families feuding. While there may, indeed, be an assumption of race about these shootings, it is unfair to accuse Mr. Wallace of "racist assumptions," since the black-on-black violence Mr. Wallace spoke of also includes Daejae Coleman's murder as well as that of Kevin Smith's, well over 30 years ago. The more productive point is about how to prevent violence in the first place. Your plan suggests greater police presence and forcing the "bad guys" out? Where do they go? Wilmette? Skokie? Niles? Do the police plant themselves in front of every residence and business where there is discord in the event a violent episode might erupt? I think it's very easy and expensive to ask for more police coverage (a.k.a. letting someone else solve the problem). It takes more time and commitment and patience to do what Mr. Wallace suggests, but I believe it has the potential to solve the problem rather than simply moving it somewhere else.
Lonson Williams
5:18 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Ms. Wolf: When you talk about "black on black" crime like this guy, you are assuming that race is the most important variable animating the violence.
Why aren't we talking about "male on male" crime or "teen on teen" crime? Plus, by racializing the problem as Wallace does it implies that other types of violence might be acceptable: "don't do black on black, but black on red or black on brown? Sure." This sort of parochialism is unhelpful in exploring what the actual sources of violence may be.
I am African American and take offence when people in this town say this is a problem of the African American community. I don't know the Murrays or the Bambergs and my kids are Honors students on the way to college. We tell them to stay as far away as possible from troublemakers (regardless of race).
I pay a lot of taxes to live in this town and much of the problem can be dealt with by better policing. Mark Kleiman has written about sensible approaches to law enforcement that could be put to good effect in Evanston: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-kleiman/when-brute-force-fails-ho_b_325256.html
Christine Wolf
5:54 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mr. Williams, as we all know -- especially after the Connecticut shootings -- violence is color blind. I have neither assumed nor suggested that race is the most important variable in our town's violence. Further, the mere mention of one type of violence in no way condones other types.
Mr. Wallace is -- as you say -- "exploring what the actual sources of violence may be." If his suspicion/theory proves correct -- that some parts of Evanston's black community might benefit from stronger and more consistent male support from the earliest stages of life, why is that racist? Is a math teacher who arranges a tutor for her struggling student suggesting that her pupil is stupid?
I, too, tell my children to stay as far as possible from troublemakers, and I congratulate you for raising Honors students headed toward college.
I also pay a lot of taxes to live in this town...so I'm curious: are you suggesting we pay even more to increase the already-stretched police force we currently have?
Most important: when you say "much of the problem can be dealt with by better policing", how would you describe the actual problem? We are fortunate to have the freedom to express our individual perspectives, as well as to disagree with others'.
Procrustes' Foil
4:53 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
It is my understanding that black-on-black violence is a serious PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. So many young black men have been disabled because of it - disabled physically, emotionally and socially. That's why, I believe, that any solution must include all parts of society: homes, churches, the medical profession, schools and law enforcement. And what about strengthening the relationships between and among black men and women?
Lonson Williams
11:11 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Christine, is the above comment from "Tracey Wallace" actually from the guy mentioned in the article?
If so, the guy is so off the rails that any defense of him stretches one's credibility.
He says that the "problem is people like Mr. Williams pretending to be naive." THAT'S THE PROBLEM? I wish that were the problem. The problem is that you have animals running around town killing people.
Until you acknowledge that, your group will ineffective if your goal is to reduce violence in the city.
Also to say I "really need to shut the f*ck up if you don't have intelligent feedback to lend to the conversation," is indicative of the fact that this group is not serious about engaging in an actual self-critical analysis about the sources of violence and the search for effective solutions.
If you can't handle critique, then you are an ideologue and your pre-conceptions will guide you into a dead end.
I don't know Mr. Wallace, and I acknowledge that someone may have posted the comment under his name to defame his character.
Thus, Christine, it would be interesting to get confirmation that someone who ostensibly wants to help the community is telling critics to "shut the f*ck up" and claiming that they are the "problem" as opposed to people actually perpetuating the violence.
Jennifer Fisher
4:46 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Lonson, we deleted the comment you're referring to due to the profanity.
Christine Wolf
11:25 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
I cringed at the language as well...but if you reread my opening paragraphs, his response to your sentiments should come as no surprise. I'm still wondering, however, what you think the answer is to curbing the violence, Mr. Williams. I think you are suggesting we work outside of Evanston to prevent "it" from infecting us? What is "it" and how do we keep "it" out? My impression is you think it's not our problem but someone else's...and if that's true, I can see why Mr. Wallace is furious with your response. Help me understand.
Lonson Williams
3:25 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Christine, it is one thing to disagree with someone but if you don't think his childish response is "surprising" or inappropriate, then we are in a sad state as a community. If someone's response to critique is to tell the person to "shut the f*ck up," that strikes me as the exact opposite approach we need to restore civility. It certainly makes me question this person's ability to engage with a diverse community to deal with pressing problems. It is a puerile and amateurish approach quite frankly.
You asked about the problem: The problem is that we have a small number of people who are engaged in antisocial and violent behavior. The link I shared above to Mark Kleiman's column is worth a read. He wrote a book on more effective policing approach which results in both lower crime rates and lower incarceration levels.
One thing you have to do is target your policing to this specific population, make the troublemakers understand that criminal actions will have consequences and append them with social services that have demonstrative benefits like "nurse home visits, improved classroom discipline, shifting the school day later so that adolescents aren't on the streets when there are lots of empty homes, reducing exposure to lead."
Lonson Williams
3:25 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
The EPD and city council have no actual philosophy of neighborhood safety and criminal justice that I can ascertain. I would like to see them act smarter using techniques that have been proven to work successfully elsewhere instead of haphazardly dealing with crime and engaging in stupid showpieces like gun buy backs.
Christine Wolf
1:30 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
Before we comment any further on this, check out part two of the article: http://evanston.patch.com/articles/how-to-stop-the-violence-parenting-community-groups-jobs