Newark's Mayor Blames Gun Violence on Poor, Single-Parent Women

NEWARK, NJ — On Saturday, August 20th, hundreds of people convened for a “Peace Walk” through New Jersey’s largest city with the goal of publicly displaying unity and solidarity against violence in Newark.

The 13-mile march passed through all five wards of the city. Participants included community activists, families, business owners, and elected officials, many of whom held signs calling for peace and solidarity as they marched through the city.

This summer, Newark is experiencing a surge in gun-related violence incidents. On June 30, a person driving a stolen white Honda Pilot drove up to a bodega on the corner of Clinton Place and Shephard Avenue and opened fire. During this incident, a total of nine people were shot, including a juvenile.

A few weeks later, two men were killed and seven people were injured in five-weekend shootings that occurred over a 24-hour period in Newark, authorities said. In early August, RLS Media reported that a group of brazen gunmen shot a man dead while he walked with his child on a Newark street. When police responded to reports of shots fired near the intersection of Hillside and Clinton avenues, officers found an unconscious and unresponsive male lying on the ground bleeding heavily. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Moreover, the night before the peace walk kicked off, a fatal shooting took place on the 200-block of Orange Street that claimed the life of a 29-year-old man. According to RLS Media, another victim was grazed in the head but survived. The second victim happened to be the son of a Deputy Mayor within the City of Newark. Needless to say, tragic violence hasn’t been a stranger in Newark as of recent- and a peace walk was certainly warranted.

Nevertheless, as the peace walk wined down, various elected officials were able to address the participants of the rally. During the address, participants of the rally heard from Keesha Eure, Director of Newark’s violence Prevention initiatives, as well as, West Ward Councilman, Dupree Kelly, Mayor Baraka, and other dignitaries.

During his address, mayor Baraka made some alarming comments regarding the issues and the causes of gun violence in the city that he runs. Every big city mayor in America has had to grapple with gun violence and maintaining public safety, which is an issue that certainly falls under a Mayor’s purview. However, Newark’s mayor took the opportunity to shift the blame from himself and his failed strategies toward some of the community's most vulnerable people.

In one instance, the mayor stated, “People want to make me responsible for raising their children. I’m not at your house. I’m not responsible for raising your children. Stop enabling your son ma’am – you know your son has a gun in his bedroom”.

Mayor Baraka continues, “You are responsible for that, get some help. It is not my fault that you don’t know where your son’s father is at. It’s not my fault you’re having trouble raising your child”.

The Mayor continued his tirade, “You need to get off social media complaining about everybody else’s children when you know it’s your child causing havoc. Blaming people at City Hall, when your child is on the corner. You ain't said one thing to your child, or the boys he be with, or the girls that are holding the weapons in their purses”.

In one fell swoop, the Mayor shifted the responsibility for public safety in Newark away from himself and his administration while blaming rising gun violence in Newark on poor single mothers who do not know where their children’s fathers are, and their young black sons and daughters. These blanket statements are not only a low blow to some of Newark’s most marginalized segments, but are very irresponsible statements for the leader of a city to make.

It is obvious that the city’s current “public safety” strategies are not only failing to reduce gun violence, but now their leaders will not take responsibility for their roles as elected leaders. Mayor Baraka’s rhetoric and his failed policies are damaging to our collective efforts to attain true community safety.

Our elected leaders have an obligation and must be held accountable to work together to move Newark forward, beyond the cycles of bloodshed and irresponsibility, and into progress toward a future where we all can all be safe. That cannot be achieved by recusing themselves from their responsibility of upholding public safety. Please stop shifting blame toward those who are not even in positions to properly defend themselves especially since there are no other big city mayors across the country who have stooped as low.