The first meeting of a newly formed coalition of Black mayors from 12 states met in Memphis on Wednesday and Thursday to talk about crime.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young hosted this first event of the Black Mayors’ Coalition on Crime, which was expected to draw 21 mayors or mayoral representatives.
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“The time is now for us to speak with one voice, to call for national and local policy change and funding, and to share our collective learnings to create the meaningful change that will reduce crime in all of our communities,” Young said in a statement announcing the gathering and his role as a leader of the national initiative.
“My hope is that this will be the start of a broad ongoing national effort to find real solutions to this very complex issue,” he said. “I believe we can leverage our collective platforms to create change in the policies, laws and resources needed to reverse the trend and heal our communities. We cannot wait.”
The coalition has the support of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, as well as mayors of mid- to small-sized cities. During his 2023 mayoral campaign, and upon taking office this past January, Young has emphasized the city’s distinction of being the largest majority Black city in the country and the perspective that brings to issues including crime.
He also has pledged a pandemic-level response to crime. Russell Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum, moderated the two-day meeting.
It included a keynote presentation by the Council on Criminal Justice, a national think tank and membership organization that works specifically on criminal justice policy.
“The time is now for us to speak with one voice, to call for national and local policy change and funding, and to share our collective learnings to create the meaningful change that will reduce crime in all of our communities”
–Paul Young, Memphis Mayor
Thomas Abt, a senior fellow and chair of the CCJ’s violent crime working group, was among its leadership team. Abt is also the author of Bleeding Out, a 2019 book on urban violence that outlines a plan for “peace in the streets.”
The book and its philosophy of an immediate response to violent crime ahead of longer-term responses is a particular favorite of Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren. Warren distributed copies of it to fellow council members shortly after he began his first term on the council in 2020. “Violence is not simply a manifestation of poverty; it is a force that perpetuates poverty as well,” Abt wrote in the book.
“Poverty might precede violence, but reducing poverty requires working backward, beginning with the violence we experience today.”
