TPC Started From The Bottom: Crime And Poverty In Youth Sparked Advocacy For Change

As far back in my life as I can remember I always carried a pen. It was imperative for me, I never knew when somebody would say something to me that I didn’t want to forget, and I always used other people’s comments to convey a perspective on short stories I wrote to myself. Back then I had a lot to say even though my thoughts and writing weren’t as coherent as my written material today. There was so much going on around me and in my youth I felt powerless and it seemed I had an inability to exact change. Poverty has a way of shaping your mind into a crusader, utilizing every resource available to you to pave a smoother path for the those who may travel in your steps, and it also instills the ability to possess compassion for others in despair. You understand because you have walked in those shoes also.

A glimpse of the block where David Adams (The People’s Champion) grew up in his youth.

So many others who literally crawled out of the gutter and have been blessed with prosperity and a better quality of life have forgotten the roads from which they traveled to reach their current station in life. Suddenly the conditions of poverty and struggling people has become foreign to them when they grew from the very unfortunate indigenous people who remain in deplorable conditions around the globe. I have witnessed countless people refuse to even sit in the homes of their relatives as if such places they themselves once dwelled in, was now simply beneath them, while many of them attend churches within the community from which they reside. I believe that mankind can’t possibly believe in the word of God until they want for their brothers, that which they want for themselves. I made a commitment to myself years ago that I would spend my entire life working to serve other people and changing the playing field that most times has the deck stacked squarely against those less fortunate. That commitment coupled with my philosophy of change through advocacy is what motivates me to champion for those who can not, or have lost the ability to promote a voice of their own.

For nearly twenty years I have worked in public safety, which allowed me a first hand glimpse of some of the worst crimes perpetrated during our time, and the very dregs of our society who commit them. In particular, violent crimes against young African Americans, at the hands of others who look just like them has been my greatest interest. I have practical knowledge of the level of violence which continues to perpetuate within the black community, having developed as a youth within one of the most violent urban cultures in America. Some how I was successful in navigating the gritty streets of East Baltimore, a task many of my peers were unsuccessful in accomplishing. Advocacy for change should appear natural for many who experienced living in the ghettos of this country, yet most simply flee from these communities without ever looking back.

Those of us who do care about the less fortunate, commit our time, and scarce resources unfortunately at a cost probably unknown to most. As a black journalist writing about black on black violence, and crime within the African American community, I remain a target of those who live by a street code of secrecy and silence. Sadly, decent law abiding citizens in many of these same communities enable the very people who commit violent crimes by remaining silent and creating a platform for these criminals to hold communities hostage with their violent and criminal acts. Other people have adopted passive approaches to quell the violence in our communities, but my tactics are more streamlined, focused on the root causes, and critical of the African American community’s failure and inability to resolve the most prevalent social dilemma plaguing our community as a whole.

Yet, the black community remains suspicious of the system, other ethnic groups (chiefly white people) and refuse to even lift a finger to call the police when violence and other crimes occur within their own community, and often times just footsteps away from their front door. These are also some of the same people who sit in the pews of local churches in the community every Sunday professing faith unto the unseen and unknown. How can you have faith and fear? They cannot coexist! I have heard the rationalization that fear prohibits direct involvement from the community, but our community is readily prepared to point to local police as being inept, and ineffective in resolving the violence and criminal behavior that permeates the black community. How can any community expect support and assistance from government entities when the citizens of these very same communities refuse to help themselves. Fear is real and I empathize with those who experience it, but I often reflect and live by a quote of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I hear the people always talking about freedom. Well, you all know what I say about that. I say don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to die, because once you overcome the fear of death itself, you are free”  — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I am no fool and understand how difficult it may be for a human being to grasp the very significance of such a perspective, but to resolve crime and violence within the black community, some of us just may have to pay the ultimate price to accomplish such an objective, and I stand prepared to get in line and lay down my life for the prosperity and deliverance of the masses of all of God’s people. We can no longer live in fear. We can no longer just simply turn our heads from evil, and in 2013 the African American community should refuse to be afraid of our own people. Considering the plight of black people since the conception and acquisition that brought our African ancestors to these shores, we must ask ourselves what are we prepared to do to save our young people? What are we prepared to sacrifice to cease the violent bloodshed that reigns within many of our communities? What do we actually have to live for if we cannot live in peace?

One of the greatest challenges for the African American community to overcome is the state of mental slavery. We suffer from a condition of self hatred, and it runs so deep that it causes black people to rise to a level of fatal violence against each other. Those of us who speak out against such senseless violence are even target with threats of violence and death, labeled as snitches, and the threats even come from those within our own families. They will have to kill me to silence me from continuing what I believe is righteous.

I am an advocate for change against crime and violence out of the ghettos of East Baltimore. Never run, never will!

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:

As far back in my life as I can remember I always carried a pen. It was imperative for me, I never knew when somebody would say something to me that I didn’t want to forget, and I always used other people’s comments to convey a perspective on short stories I wrote to myself. Back then I had a lot to say even though my thoughts and writing weren’t as coherent as my written material today. There was so much going on around me and in my youth I felt powerless and it seemed I had an inability to exact change. Poverty has a way of shaping your mind into a crusader, utilizing every resource available to you to pave a smoother path for the those who may travel in your steps, and it also instills the ability to possess compassion for others in despair. You understand because you have walked in those shoes also.

A glimpse of the block where David Adams (The People’s Champion) grew up in his youth.

So many others who literally crawled out of the gutter and have been blessed with prosperity and a better quality of life have forgotten the roads from which they traveled to reach their current station in life. Suddenly the conditions of poverty and struggling people has become foreign to them when they grew from the very unfortunate indigenous people who remain in deplorable conditions around the globe. I have witnessed countless people refuse to even sit in the homes of their relatives as if such places they themselves once dwelled in, was now simply beneath them, while many of them attend churches within the community from which they reside. I believe that mankind can’t possibly believe in the word of God until they want for their brothers, that which they want for themselves. I made a commitment to myself years ago that I would spend my entire life working to serve other people and changing the playing field that most times has the deck stacked squarely against those less fortunate. That commitment coupled with my philosophy of change through advocacy is what motivates me to champion for those who can not, or have lost the ability to promote a voice of their own.

For nearly twenty years I have worked in public safety, which allowed me a first hand glimpse of some of the worst crimes perpetrated during our time, and the very dregs of our society who commit them. In particular, violent crimes against young African Americans, at the hands of others who look just like them has been my greatest interest. I have practical knowledge of the level of violence which continues to perpetuate within the black community, having developed as a youth within one of the most violent urban cultures in America. Some how I was successful in navigating the gritty streets of East Baltimore, a task many of my peers were unsuccessful in accomplishing. Advocacy for change should appear natural for many who experienced living in the ghettos of this country, yet most simply flee from these communities without ever looking back.

Those of us who do care about the less fortunate, commit our time, and scarce resources unfortunately at a cost probably unknown to most. As a black journalist writing about black on black violence, and crime within the African American community, I remain a target of those who live by a street code of secrecy and silence. Sadly, decent law abiding citizens in many of these same communities enable the very people who commit violent crimes by remaining silent and creating a platform for these criminals to hold communities hostage with their violent and criminal acts. Other people have adopted passive approaches to quell the violence in our communities, but my tactics are more streamlined, focused on the root causes, and critical of the African American community’s failure and inability to resolve the most prevalent social dilemma plaguing our community as a whole.

Yet, the black community remains suspicious of the system, other ethnic groups (chiefly white people) and refuse to even lift a finger to call the police when violence and other crimes occur within their own community, and often times just footsteps away from their front door. These are also some of the same people who sit in the pews of local churches in the community every Sunday professing faith unto the unseen and unknown. How can you have faith and fear? They cannot coexist! I have heard the rationalization that fear prohibits direct involvement from the community, but our community is readily prepared to point to local police as being inept, and ineffective in resolving the violence and criminal behavior that permeates the black community. How can any community expect support and assistance from government entities when the citizens of these very same communities refuse to help themselves. Fear is real and I empathize with those who experience it, but I often reflect and live by a quote of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I hear the people always talking about freedom. Well, you all know what I say about that. I say don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to die, because once you overcome the fear of death itself, you are free”  — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I am no fool and understand how difficult it may be for a human being to grasp the very significance of such a perspective, but to resolve crime and violence within the black community, some of us just may have to pay the ultimate price to accomplish such an objective, and I stand prepared to get in line and lay down my life for the prosperity and deliverance of the masses of all of God’s people. We can no longer live in fear. We can no longer just simply turn our heads from evil, and in 2013 the African American community should refuse to be afraid of our own people. Considering the plight of black people since the conception and acquisition that brought our African ancestors to these shores, we must ask ourselves what are we prepared to do to save our young people? What are we prepared to sacrifice to cease the violent bloodshed that reigns within many of our communities? What do we actually have to live for if we cannot live in peace?

One of the greatest challenges for the African American community to overcome is the state of mental slavery. We suffer from a condition of self hatred, and it runs so deep that it causes black people to rise to a level of fatal violence against each other. Those of us who speak out against such senseless violence are even target with threats of violence and death, labeled as snitches, and the threats even come from those within our own families. They will have to kill me to silence me from continuing what I believe is righteous.

I am an advocate for change against crime and violence out of the ghettos of East Baltimore. Never run, never will!

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

 

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:

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