February 18, 2019
On Friday, February 8th, a 25 year old man with a history of violence walked into Frederick Douglass High School, a Y community school, and shot a school employee, Michael Marks, because he didn’t like the fact that Marks had disciplined a student and relative of his who had a habit of skipping class and starting fights at the school. The young man, named Neil Davis, was somehow wrestled to the ground and detained by the wounded Marks. It turns out that Davis may have shot and killed a cousin of his this past November, an incident which occurred on the heels of his serving a three year sentence for slashing another cousin’s throat, an eight year old child.
In the City of Baltimore, the cycle of violence goes on and on, and the majority of those who live here and are trying to do the right thing for themselves, their families and city continue to be traumatized by the inability and unwillingness of the city’s elected officials to treat the situation like the existential crisis that it is.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the impact trauma has on those we serve and the Y’s associates. The shooting at Frederick Douglass High School is yet another stark reminder of the environment in which we operate. If it was an isolated incident, it would still be traumatic, but the “ordinariness” of it underscores that we are operating in an environment in which too many people have become inured to the violence, hopelessness and chaos that has long infected our city. The roots of this situation are widely discussed but yet viewed as inalterable: generational poverty, a deeply-embedded history of discrimination and racism, the drug trade, a saturation of guns, a challenged education system, blighted neighborhoods, a lack of viable employment, a terrible transportation system, a culture of violence, and a long history of rudderless “leadership” at city hall and Annapolis.
In my view, these challenges are not inalterable. They are difficult and they will require a long, determined and focused effort to solve. But, they are fixable. Many other cities have made tremendous strides to overcome them. The truth is that change takes both vision and steely determination, two attributes that can’t simply be implanted in those who have long ignored the problem.
At the Y, we are not standing around waiting for others to do something. We are doing a great deal of good, important and hard work. And it is being done by incredibly gifted, determined and brave people, like the Y’s Community Schools associates at Frederick Douglass High School, who not only deserve our support but who deserve to be lifted up every day.
Last Wednesday, more than 40 Y associates from our School Partnerships and Mentoring teams, joined by several others of us, participated in a Restorative Circle to discuss the incident and its effect on our team.
The International Institute for Restorative Practices states that "a circle is a versatile restorative practice that can be used proactively, to develop relationships and build community or reactively, to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts and problems. Circles give people an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum and equality." While several of our Y youth development leaders are trained 'circle keepers,’ we asked our colleague Shantay McKinley, from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and former principal of one of our Community Schools, to facilitate the circle.
Y associates who participated in the circle shared their reactions to hearing the news of what happened at Douglass, how it affected them, and suggested ideas on how we move forward. We heard from two of the young and talented Y associates from our Douglass team, Isiah Ashburn and Diamond Sampson, both of whom had just left the school moments before the incident. Their emotions were understandably raw, with their commitment to helping young people and their community tested but not broken.
Sitting there, listening to them and to so many other Y associates who work in some of this city’s most underserved neighborhoods and schools, I was both extremely gratified to be their colleague but also intensely determined to help bend the arc of what is happening in this city. There is so much we are doing today, but there is so much more work to do. And we will do it.
I also reflected upon the fact that we need to do more to insure the safety and sanctity of the incredible souls who are doing this work. Other incidents over this past weekend at our two Ys in Baltimore City only reinforced that commitment. What ultimately those measures involve is yet to be determined, and the recommendations will come from those on the ground, but I can assure you that we will do more. They deserve it. The people we are serving, who are part of the majority of the people doing the right thing in our city, deserve it. We appreciate and support you. You will be heard, and we will be sure that those who are elected to serve and protect them hear you as well.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland