Silence Is Violence

May 17th Weekly Update!

Date: Fri, May. 18, 2007

Hi, everyone...

Interesting news aired this week: Fox is planning a television series

based on New Orleans cops. The very possibility of this series

indicates the continuing national interest in our city's struggles.

As crime continues to spiral out of control, while financial

circumstances deteriorate for many residents waiting for Road Home

dollars that seem ever more illusory, New Orleans has become the focus

of morbid fascination for many Americans living in more conventional

urban settings. It is not our job, however, to sugar-coat with

cosmetic or rhetorical fixes the bitter image they are forming of New

Orleans. Rather, it is our job, while all eyes are still upon us, to

make New Orleans actually better, to change the fundamental character

of the image before their very eyes. As even one of the producers of

the fictional "K-Ville" noted: "If you want rebuild a city, where do

you begin? It begins with protecting its citizens and making them

feel secure." The raid of Elliott's Gun Shop of Jefferson Parish, reported in the

headline of today's Times-Picayune, signifies real change. This store

was the source for guns used in well over a hundred murders over the

past several years, in addition to many hundreds of drug crimes. Gun

purchasing laws and regulations were treated very casually at

Elliott's, and even the methods of acquiring guns for sale involved

often unethical business dealings. If authorities begin to close in

on the sources for guns used in violent crimes, to track and evaluate

the histories of guns that wind up on murder scenes, they will be much

better situated to solve and eventually prevent many gun crimes. We

are grateful for the continued forceful federal presence in New

Orleans and for the work of the ATF investigators who shut down

Elliott's. We as citizens must also continue to find our own ways to speak up

against violence and divisions in our city and to enact changes in our

neighborhoods. Last week, the New Orleans Bayou Steppers Social Aid

and Pleasure Club led the way by hosting the weekly SilenceIsViolence

City Walk, with a walk through the Marigny and Treme neighborhoods and

a reception at Ernie K-Doe's Mother-in-Law Lounge. This week, the

City Walk will return to Ernie K-Doe's, departing at 7pm and taking us

through the French Quarter and into the Central Business District.

The full route is as follows: City Walk #5: Sunday, May 20: Treme , the French Quarter, and the CBD

START: 7pm SHARP at Ernie K-Doe's Mother-in-Law Lounge (1500 N.

Claiborne Ave.). Walk up Claiborne to Esplanade Ave.; turn LEFT onto

Esplanade, RIGHT onto N. Robertson, and LEFT onto Gov. Nicholls St.

Turn RIGHT past St. Augustine Church onto St. Claude Ave. and LEFT

onto St. Philip St. Turn RIGHT onto N. Rampart St. and proceed past

Armstrong Park. Turn LEFT onto St. Louis St. and RIGHT onto Bourbon

St. Proceed across Canal St.; STOP at Dominic's (219 Carondelet St.)

Reception and music. With summer setting in and more and more people seeking weekend

escapes from the city, we are considering shifting the weekly City

Walks to Thursday evenings instead of Sundays. Please write to us at

SpeakUp@silenceisviolence.org and let us know which of these evenings

is better for you. In addition, mark June 6th on your calendar for a special showcase at

Sound Cafe featuring students from both Frederick Douglass and Rabouin

high school sharing words and music from 4-7pm. As always, details about these and other SilenceIsViolence plans and

programs can be found on our website, www. silenceisviolence.org.

Keep in touch, and we look forward to seeking you this Sunday evening

for the City Walk to the CBD—