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June 23, 2005
Muslims bring message of redemption to local teens
Yawu Miller
Although True-See Allah was enmeshed in gang life
as a member of the Castlegate Street gang in the ‘80s, he
always showed deference to the smartly-dressed members of the
Nation of Islam’s nearby Mosque #11.
“Whenever the brothers came around, we’d show them
respect,” he recalls. “If we were drinking or smoking,
we’d put it down or put it out.”
Allah met Rodney Muhammad while incarcerated at Deer Island and
was impressed with the minister’s message of empowerment.
After serving eight years at MCI Norfolk on charges of assault
and battery with intent to murder, Allah was ready to put the
thug life behind forever.
Now he works with police officers, the sheriff’s department
and clergy members to help the next generation of young, criminally-involved
youths find a way out of gang life.
“When the weather gets hot, people get frustrated and begin
to take out their frustration on one another,” he said.
“We go to different hot spots to give people inspiration.
Ultimately, we’re just letting people know that there are
alternatives to the life they’re living.”
Allah’s outreach is part of the Nation of Islam’s
longstanding practice of counseling wayward teens on the street
corners they frequent. Nation of Islam members have been conducting
outreach in the Grove Hall area since long before Allah staked
out his space on Castlegate.
Now, as city officials and black clergy gear up to tackle what
many fear may be a tough summer, more and more ministers are turning
to street outreach. Two weeks ago, members of the Black Ministerial
Alliance held a press conference pledging to conduct street outreach,
prayer vigils and community meetings.
Those clergy identified 14 hot spots in the city in which they
would focus their efforts.
Activists say the Nation of Islam’s outreach efforts have
been an effective anti-crime strategy.
“People listen to the Nation of Islam,” said NAACP
Boston Branch President Leonard Alkins. “They’re willing
to hear what they have to say and they respect them.”
That respect gives Nation of Islam members the ability to squash
beefs between warring gang factions, as was the case last year
when a Castlegate gang member shot at two people, injuring one.
Allah invited the alleged shooter and those fired upon to a basement
office in the mosque.
“We make sure everyone is searched,” Allah said. “Then
they will be on equal footing. Everybody knows you can’t
bring anything into the mosque.”
Minister Don Muhammad then advised the trio that they were caught
in a cycle of violence.
“He let them know that if they continued, one person would
end up in a morgue and the other in prison,” Allah recalls.
“Two families would suffer. Ultimately, we got the brother
who was in the wrong to apologize. It turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Once we got to talking, it was all flushed out.”
While the outreach practiced by the Nation of Islam ministers
and the Black Ministerial Alliance is widely seen as a positive
initiative, Larry Mayes, the city’s chief of human services,
says other approaches are needed at the same time.
“Any time you have a visible presence in the community,
it can have an effect,” he said. “Of course you need
to have other things including youth programming and GED programs.”
Mayes said the city is providing resources, but noted that federal
and state funding has been cut.
“Generally, I think the city of Boston has lost $200 million
or more for a variety of initiatives involving youth,” he
said. “I think Boston has done a phenomenal job, faced with
losing so much funding.”
The loss of funding for youth projects and summer jobs, more than
any other factor, has many in Grove Hall concerned.
“We’re all impacted by the overall conditions of budget
cuts and a worsening economy,” said Michael Kozu, an organizer
with Project RIGHT, which works in the Grove Hall area. “In
the past, it’s been easier to find job opportunities. Now
there’s a lot of competition for resources.”
Although the opportunities may be fewer than in past years, Allah
still works with a coalition of law enforcement officers and street
workers to help people transitioning out of incarceration as part
of the Re-Entry Initiative.
“I’m a tour guide,” he said. “They have
to know where they want to go and I get them there.”
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