PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jamal Johnson stood with other activists at the intersection of 53rd and Market streets, the same block where three teens — ages 16, 17 and 18 — were struck by bullets the night before.
“We need you out here,” he exclaimed, calling for an end to the violence. In all, nine children were shot over the weekend across Philadelphia, including a 1-year-old boy, bringing the total number of kids gunned down so far this year to more than 120.
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“People are dying in our damn streets,” he pressed. Johnson, a lifelong Philadelphian and a Marine veteran, organized the small protest to get the attention of residents and city leaders.
It’s not the first time he tried to get the city’s attention. He went on a hunger strike in January to push city officials to come together to solve the gun crisis, similar to how they worked together during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s pathetic,” Johnson said. “I think the mayor is apathetic. I think he has fallen on his sword.”
After more than three weeks on strike, Johnson met with Mayor Jim Kenney and came up with a truce.
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“He told me personally, after my hunger strike, that he was going to enact the items … [in] City Council,” he recalled, “and the only one he has done is the briefings, which still aren’t fulfilling what we expected they would.”
This weekend, Johnson protested outside the mayor’s house because, he said, Kenney hasn’t upheld his end of the bargain.
“Frankly, I think the mayor is just despicable in the way he is addressing this problem,” said Johnson. “If these were 100 white kids, would it be handled differently?”
The mayor has said his administration has been working closely with the police department and other city and state agencies to address the gun crisis. In a letter to Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, which KYW Newsradio obtained on Monday, Kenney said he personally spoke with President Joe Biden about the gun violence plaguing the city, and he is declining to declare a gun violence emergency.
Neighbors agreed with Johnson, saying they are fed up and blame city leaders for not slowing the overwhelming gun violence crisis.
“It shouldn’t be multiple shootings back to back, multiple killings back to back,” said West Philly resident Barbie, who preferred not to use her last name. She spent the weekend attending vigils for family friends who have lost children to shootings.
“Just to see the family mourn over somebody that didn’t even experience life yet … that’s just a sad thing,” she said.
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“I really believe the city has to take control of the streets,” emphasized Gregory Benjamin, leader of the 51st Ward, which covers parts of Southwest Philadelphia.
Halfway through 2021, the city has surpassed 300 homicides — up at least 33% from this time last year. And with the number of shootings also piling up, Benjamin wonders: Where is the outrage?
“If those protesters were able to come into our communities and talked about how much they cared about us, and create all the rioting — right here on 52nd Street, right here last year, was chaotic because of rioters — and if they were that concerned, where are they now?” he asked.