New Orleans, LA - Tim Washington is the owner of Crescent City Seafood at 1104 Canal Street. He's fed up with the violence. "When babies are dying over and over and over... when babies are dying for no apparent reason, I mean something has to be done," said Washington.
Washington says his job at his cafe goes well beyond the kitchen. "My real work is dealing with children," he said. He doesn't have a special title or a program, just the desire to make a difference. "I've gotten out here. I've stopped fights. I've been in the midst of gang fights out here, but I can tell you this, they no longer fight in the 11-hundred block of Canal Street.
He says he's probably the most hated man on the block, but he doesn't care. Washington says he will continue standing his ground and reaching out to young people who may be on a dangerous path. "I tell them just the way it is. When they're messing up. I've been on the other side of the fence. I've done wrong," said Washington.
Nadra Enzi, also known as Captain Black, is always working to make a difference in the community. Wednesday he handed out flyers along Canal Street. They flyers read "New Orleans Nightmare" and featured the photos of two teens gunned down in New Orleans in May. "This is a problem that's happening within our community, at our dinner tables, with our families and only we can change it," said Enzi.
Right now, you're safer strolling New York's Central Park at night, than the streets of New Orleans. That's according to Tulane Criminologist Peter Scharf. He says this year there will be an estimated 55 murders per 100-thousand people in New Orleans. In New York, it's 55 per 500-thousand. To make matters worse, many victims here are children. "We are lethal to our children," said Scharf. "If we can't protect our children, who can we protect?"
"Everybody I've talked to there is saying this is not all on NOPD's watch. We have tolerated low, highly immature, young people who have only one livelihood which is dealing dope, who pack and don't give a damn who they kill," said Scharf.
"It's our community. It's our kids being killed," said Enzi. "If we stand up guess what? Good people from other zip codes are going to stand with us."
"For the most part, this problem is in our black communities," said Washington. "It is nowhere else. So I'm saying to the black people in this city, we need to stand up and do something. Are you going to wait until it's your kid? Then what?"
The men hope to organize an Anti-violence march with New Orleans Police. They call their group "Brothers Against Crime."
