Contagious

In tents and with purpose: Peace

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Tent City is spreading.

Across Richmond, people fed up with street violence bedded down for the week in places many would not normally go: drug corners, killing scenes, the infamous "hot spots" referenced by police and politicians.

What began as small gesture for peace at the corner of Fourth Street and Macdonald Avenue on Monday evening has mushroomed, with another camp appearing in Shields-Reid Park in North Richmond, and more organizing Thursday.

Community leaders now say they will live in a lot across from Fourth Street Park for 30 days.

"There has not been a shooting since we have been here," said the Rev. Charles Newsome, president of the Richmond chapter of the NAACP. "Right now, brothers and sisters are being very respectful. This is holy ground."

A group made camp Monday at the central Richmond site, transforming a parking lot into a combination barbecue pit and memorial shrine, where funeral programs for homicide victims festooned tables Thursday.

While the circumstances are sinister, the Rev. Andre Shumake said he was encouraged by the enthusiasm of both his compatriots and the community, which has supplied much-needed food, water and gear.

"At one time, some of these men were shooting at each other," Shumake said. "Now they're sitting around a campfire, talking about how to save their babies' lives."

Richmond police have investigated 32 killings this year. Organizers called upon faith leaders to participate and bring out more people, particularly on the city's south side, where they are still trying to organize camps.

"My sister was killed right in that circle where everyone is sitting," said Regina Guinn, gesturing to a spot where people ate barbecue and sat on lawn furniture Thursday. "We really need change here. We really need for someone to step up."

A second group began camping in Shields-Reid Park in North Richmond on Tuesday. About a dozen people were there Thursday, and Garland Harper said they would stay "as long as it takes."

"We're trying to reach out and touch the young ones in the community," said Harper, whose 22-year-old son was shot and killed in south Richmond on April 14. "But at the same time, we're telling them to stop the violence, we need to give them something else to do."

Harper and Sibb Adell said the community and local government needs to do a better job of providing public education, employment and recreation for young people in Richmond, starting with the dilapidated park where the North Richmond group has set up camp.

Organizers initially planned to march to Richmond Memorial Auditorium on Monday afternoon to unveil a three-year plan for reducing violence on city streets, but they are no longer set on that schedule because they want to give more neighborhoods time to pitch tents.

"We are calling for a truce for peace. We are asking people to go anywhere in town, even to the places where they typically could not go, knowing that nothing will happen to them. Because if anybody breaks this truce, there'd better not be any witnesses," Newsome said. "Because if I see you kill someone, I'm going to tell."

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

HOW TO HELP
People camping for peace in Richmond need food, water and camping gear to sustain their effort. Anyone wishing to donate can go to either site, at the corner of Fourth Street and Macdonald Avenue, or in Shields-Reid Park near the corner of Gertrude Avenue and Kelsey Street.