Jay Dockendorf Photo
“Stop the violence, increase the peace,” yelled Shelton Tucker, 35, from the back of the roving crowd. Gradually, voices at the front caught on, and the volume increased.
“I’ve been a community activist for ten years now, so that just comes to my head,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of the collective effort to stop the violence; but since I usually work with another cause, I’m a guest in their house.”
“They” were members of the NAACP at Southern Connecticut State University. “Their house” — at least for the duration of a “March Against Violence” Tuesday — was the sidewalk leading from Dixwell Avenue, through two neighborhoods where young black men are continually being shot, to the New Haven Green.
The 30 marchers, mostly students, chanted and held signs as they handed out pamphlets to people in doorways, in stoops, in shops, and on the street. Police cruisers trolled alongside the group, their lights silently flashing as the students made noise. The NAACP at SCSU coordinated the event; some non-members and adults also participated. The walk lasted approximately an hour.
Up ahead, Ronald Huggins, 20, had amended Tucker’s original chant: “STOP THE BEAT, INCREASE THE PEACE,” he now yelled. The message grew louder.
“Oh that’s hot,” Tucker said, laughing.
Along the march, the group passed two locations where New Haven residents were murdered this year. One member of the group carried a sign with the face Ricky Blakes, a founding member of their NAACP chapter. He was shot to death in 2004.
“This is my first time ever seeing this, and my daughter’s father was killed by gun violence 17 years ago,” said Renee Brown, of Kensington Avenue in the Edgewood neighborhood. Standing outside a house on Dixwell, she praised the marchers for their efforts but also remarked that the situation called for more.
“More everything, more parental involvement, and more computers in community centers,” she said, necessary to curb gun violence.
Ronald Huggins said he lends a hand sometimes at City Hall. He had contacted the police to ask them to lend a hand that afternoon. And when the march concluded downtown, SCSU police had organized a shuttle to bring them back to campus.
Ronald Huggins (at left).
“Growing up in New Haven, I’ve seen a lot of my friends pass; I can’t even cry about it anymore because it’s become the norm,” Huggins said. “I wanted this rally to be an inspiration to my peers.”
Social Issues Chairperson Brandon Rothschild, 20, added, “Other people will see what we’re trying to do, and they’re going to want to do it too.” He said Tuesday’s march represented a kickoff for broader efforts by the NAACP at SCSU to tackle other social issues.
At 3 p.m. the protesters passed through the Yale campus on Elm Street. When they arrived outside Phelps Gate, a popular waiting spot for taxis and shuttles, a young man confronted the group on their message.
“Are you protesting against violence in general?” said the young man, who left without identifying himself.
“Yes because it’s very prevalent — we’re not happy seeing people getting shot,” replied Dustin Pervis-Pritchett, 21, of New Haven.
“Your strategy is essentially getting out message. Well good luck,” the student said and left without identifying himself.
The exchange visibly annoyed several of the marchers.
“Violence is a primitive behavior. We’re trying to curb it and offer alternative solutions,” said Pervis-Pritchett afterwards.
“Education — Gateway community college is a great and affordable outlet. Southern is a good outlet. The military: If you’re channeling anger and frustration, fighting for the country is a good outlet. And you’re getting a paycheck for it.”
Pervis-Pritchett, an anthropology major at SCSU, said he thinks a lack of money and power motivates the people who commit the most violent crimes in New Haven. “These acts are not related to drugs, or alcohol, or cigarettes. When you go to Yale or something, you’re part of a power structure. These people have no power,” he said. “We have to target it head on and have real solutions.”