In an effort to curb an escalation in violence in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill community, local City Council Member Laurie Cumbo yesterday took a bus load of young men from the Ingersoll, Farragut and Whitman public housing developments to the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March in Washington DC.

The trip was coordinated with The Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Brownsville and in total about 45 young men went to the march from the Fort Greene NYCHA developments and the church. The Nation of Islam and its leader Louis Farrakhan organized both marches in conjunction with scores of civil rights groups and local churches.

The major theme of the first march was the struggle for support and self-sufficiency within the black community, and this weekend’s theme was ‘Justice or Else.’

City Council Member Laurie Cumbo

“Some of these young men weren’t even born when the last one (March) took place,” said Cumbo. “I wanted to focus away from some of the negative trends, and I saw this as an opportunity to engage the youth and bring them outside the city.”

Cumbo said there were also several other women on the bus and a good many women involved in the gathering on Washington’s National Mall between the Lincoln and Washington Memorials.

The speakers included strong messages for women around the issues of domestic violence in our community as well as abortion, how women present themselves and rape, Cumbo said.

The 20th Anniversary of the Million March occurred as violent crime has skyrocketed in Cumbo’s district. According to police statistics in the 88th Police Precinct, there have been six murders this year as compared to two at this time last year. Additionally, there have been 17 shooting incidents thus far in 2015 as compared to nine at this time last year.

While Cumbo says you can’t really measure the effect bringing local youth will have on curbing the violence in the community, it was a powerful experience for all those in attendance.

“All you can do is what you can do. You certainly do have to bring people outside of their comfort zones. As adults we understand the importance of getting away for weekends or on little trips, and most adults don’t even deal with the same levels of trauma that these young men face. It’s important they get out and see something else. Something more outside their immediate community,” the lawmaker said.