Month: March 2016

(CNN) — Civil Rights legends visit Georgia high school seniors to discuss history and politics. CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield reports.

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A conversation with Civil Rights legends

Ten safety counselors joined representatives from the mayor’s office on March 17, 2016 to open a new Safe Streets facility in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.

Located inside a former Catholic convent, it might be seen as a fitting backdrop in contrast to the gun violence that has plagued the area, which became the center of national attention last year because of a resident named Freddie Gray.

“The Safe Streets program has realized significant success across Baltimore City, with two sites having at least one twelve-month period with no homicides,” said Sean Naron, a spokesman for the city’s health department. “In 2014, Safe Streets workers had 15,000 client interactions and mediated 880 conflicts. More than 80 percent of those interactions were deemed to be likely or very likely to result in gun violence.”

Safe Street uses previously incarcerated individuals and other men to counsel young people against violence. The counselors walk the streets in Safe Street neighborhoods at night with the goal of seeking out potential problems and counseling individuals against violence.

“Most of us come from this environment and we understand the body language,” said Imhotep Fatiu, a former convict who spent 14 years in prison and is now the director for the new Sandtown-Winchester office.

In 2015, five people lost their lives to gun violence in the blocks where the new Safe Streets office is located. Also, 12 others survived shootings but the 344 murders in the city last year were the deadliest in Baltimore history, according to health officials.

“Violence is a public-health issue. Violence spreads from person to person just like other diseases,” said Dr. Leana Wen, the city’s health commissioner.

Naron says Safe Streets has made a significant difference with violent crime dropping 50 percent in those neighborhoods that include Cherry Hill, McElderry Park, Mondawmin and Park Heights.

“Safe Streets is a program that has been proven to reduce gun violence, and I think all of us know it is important to expand this program into the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a March 17 press conference to announce the program’s launch.

Rawlings-Blake announced Catholic Charities will operate Safe Streets from St. Peter Claver, a convent on the parish property, employing credible messengers to interrupt violence before it occurs.

“These are individuals who come from the communities they serve,” said Dedra Layne, director of Safe Streets Baltimore, adding that many Safe Streets outreach workers were once “a part of the problems these communities have been impacted by.”

“They have recommitted themselves to strengthening the communities they were once part of tearing apart,” she said.

Safe Streets maintains that violence is a learned behavior that can be prevented using disease control methods.

“This intervention targets at risk youth, aged 14 to 25, through regular individual interactions, conflict mediation, media campaigns and community mobilization,” Naron said.

Safe Streets Baltimore was launched by the Baltimore City Health Department in 2007 as a replication of the national Cure Violence program. The public health initiative employs and trains outreach professionals to de-escalate and mediate disputes that might otherwise result in acts of violence.

“The program has realized significant success across Baltimore City,” Naron said.

BALTIMORE — Between 2000 and 2009, U.S. Census data revealed the number of commuter cyclists in Baltimore increased by a whopping 233 percent. Nationwide, biking has also grown as the number of individuals who cycled within the past 12 months increased from 47 million in the spring of 2008 to 66 million in the spring of 2015.

“For the average commuter, when you look at operating costs, a bike costs about 10 cents per mile, public transit breaks down to roughly 14 cents per mile and a typical sedan costs about 58 cents per mile,” said Tina Schmidt, of My City Bikes, a public health alliance that helps individuals enjoy better health and quality of life through biking.

Add all of that to the fact that bike commuting allows an individual to combine their daily exercise and commute into one and more people are now motivated to get out and enjoy a daily bike commute instead of being stuck in traffic, Schmidt said.

With the arrival of spring, bikers are hitting the road and My City Bikes offers a mobile app, which is said to be the official guide to beginner biking in hundreds of communities.

“My City Bikes is a mobile and web-based public health alliance of communities, organizations and local businesses dedicated to helping people discover better health and quality of life through biking,” Schmidt said. “We work with local partners like the City of Baltimore and Race Pace Bicycles who are dedicated to community health to establish utility style, community-based mobile apps and publicly accessible information that make it easy and approachable for people to bike regularly.”

The My City Bikes app is a guide to biking in Baltimore for beginners. It has need-to-know safety information, DIY bike maintenance information, and local bike riding that is suited to beginners.

“A lot of people can be overwhelmed when they think about biking, and try to find local information. Every ride detailed in the My City Bikes Baltimore app is beginner level, so a new rider can choose any road, mountain or recreational option with confidence,” Schmidt said.

My City Bikes started in 2010 and today provides local bike guides for beginner cyclists in more than 300 communities in three countries.

While commuting on bikes can provide many benefits, it can also help keep children active as well, according to Schmidt.

“When you look at recreational biking you can take that a step further. These days people are concerned with not just their physical activity levels, but that of their kids as well,” she said. “While the many groups and gyms and activities that are available are great, biking is unique in that you can do it together as

a family. The kids don’t have to be in childcare, and the parents don’t have to be on the sidelines.

“Not to mention you can’t really text or talk on the phone while biking so you get good old fashioned family time and exercise rolled into one. The reasons to bike are as diverse as the people who ride bikes, but every person has a great reason. Hopefully another reason that we see this is because biking is becoming more accessible for beginners,” she said.

Also, it’s important that bikers realize all of the options they have available to find a bicycle and place to ride that suits them, Schmidt said.

“Bike shops like Race Pace Bicycles are revolutionizing the idea of the bike shop from a place for elite enthusiasts to a place for everyone. That has opened the door for people to feel welcome and open to the idea that they, too, can bike,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re just spiffing up the old bike in the garage, getting something shiny and new, or just want to go ask a bunch of bike questions.

“When you have a shop like Race Pace combined with the My City Bikes Baltimore mobile resource that the City of Baltimore has helped provide, every local rider is set up for success and has an unprecedented support system. It is a great time to be a beginner cyclist.”

Women’s History Month highlights the contributions of women in American history during the month of March. However, the achievements and accomplishments of young black women in contemporary society are also worthy of acknowledgement.

Tiffany L. Gill, a filmmaker, writer and founder of Black Opal Media, was raised in Baltimore and attended Towson State University. Today, Gill is working to give girls and young women of color a voice through film, programming, conversation and a growing social movement.

The purpose of her forthcoming documentary called Black Girls Unscripted (BGU) featuring, predominately African-American and Afro-Latin girls from the ages of 11-22, is to provide an opportunity to see themselves in ways that they may not in mainstream media and tell their own stories. Girls who are excelling in various areas will also be highlighted as stereotypes are challenged.

The creation of the forthcoming film project is rooted in a conversation Gill had with a former 13-year-old mentee. The girl’s mother died from breast cancer. She returned to the area to visit her grandmother, after moving out of state with her father. When Gill saw her again in 2013, a conversation led to the teenager revealing news of her attempted suicide.

“I asked her why and pretty much outside of mental health issues that I discovered later that ran in her family, she said, ‘I hate being dark-skinned. I hate my wide nose. I hate my hair. All the boys in Texas like the light-skinned or Spanish girls,’” Gill said. “She went a step further to say: ‘I never see anyone in media who looks like me that’s considered kind or pretty or smart.’”

Gill added that probably the most profound thing her mentee said to her was that there is nothing good about growing up to be a black woman. The next day, the teenager proposed the idea showing different media imagery where women of color are represented through something better than degrading or stereotypical images in popular culture and media.

“That conversation was really the springboard for this project,” Gill said, referring to her documentary and movement.

Filming has taken place in Baltimore, the District of Columbia, New York and Chicago. Gill explained that the project will follow girls of color through their challenges and triumphs. A fundraising initiative to complete production and editing of the project will be launched in late spring.

“And the hope is that we’ll be ready to roll the piece out winter of 2016, early 2017 at the very latest,” Gill said.

Gill is also a former nonprofit executive who integrated an opportunity for girls ages 13-19 to talk about hot-button topics during listening sessions that will be held every two months at the South Bowie Branch Library, located at 15301 Hall Rd. in Bowie, Md. BGU Listening Sessions are facilitated by team members, Charmayne Walker—BGU’s social media director—and Belinda Brewington—BGU’s community relations director. Gill said the discussions are also a great opportunity for girls to make new friends.

Marian D. Daniel, a BGU advisory board member and supporter from Baltimore said that the project provides a place and atmosphere where girls can safely express themselves without being judged. She added that their voices have been silenced because no one is typically interested in truly hearing them.

Additionally, VeTalle Fusilier—BGU’s development consultant, advisory board member and longtime supporter said the team identified a key area that she would like to see change occur through BGU’s impact.

“Most importantly, as the title suggests, we want Black girls to see themselves as they truly are—unscripted. Not a fictional, idyllic portrayal, but unscripted, beautiful, smart and savvy,” Fusilier said. “It is the story of Black girls achieving in different environments, triumphing despite limiting circumstances, (and) maximizing their opportunities for growth and self-realization.”

Gill wants the collection of empowering messages to reach communities where girls need them most.

Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, founder of Exceptional Leadership Institute for Women, was interviewed for Gill’s project and described its value as tremendous.

“It provides a much needed focus on the often unspoken needs and challenges faced by Black girls, and creates the impetus for the rest of us to do a better job at meeting those needs,” Jones-DeWeever said. “Our girls deserve it.”

A BGU listening session will be held on March 26, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at the South Bowie Branch Library. The event is free but registration is required via https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-girl-unscripted-listening-sessions-tickets-22183615792. To learn more about BGU, please visit www.blackgirlsunscripted.org.