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GUNFIRE CLAIMS LIFE OF YOUNG ACTIVIST 22-YEAR-OLD SPOKE OUT AGAINST GANGS, VIOLENCE BY SHARON ADARLD STAR-LEDGER STAFF |
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Crowd gathers at Newark City Hall for food, fellowship
by Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger Monday April 13, 2009, 5:47 PM (Click here to View on NJ.COM)
Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerAaliyah Andrews, 7, center, gives Newark resident Bernard O'Neil some goods in front of City Hall this afternoon. With Aaliyah, is Tanajah Harris, 9.
Earl Best wiped away tears today as the needy kept coming. Volunteers estimated about 2,000 people showed up on the steps of Newark City Hall for a free meal and fellowship meant to take some of the sting out of hard economic times.
"We came a long way. God bless all the organizations and people who gave and made this happen," said Best, known in Newark as "The Street Doctor" and founder of Street Warriors Inc.
The nonprofit group, which battles violent crime and assists with prisoner re-entry, was among several organizations involved in the, "Concerned Citizens Day of Love and Giving."
Best said the idea for the event arose from discussions with local organizations and leaders, who banded together wanting to provide the community's version of the federal government's stimulus package.
About 50 volunteers, including city workers and Essex County employees, were recruited for the event. Volunteers handed out hot dogs, pizza, fresh fruit, non-perishable food, socks, T-shirts and toys to anyone who showed up in need of assistance.
A line of several hundred people stood in front of the steps leading up to city hall starting at noon, and was shut down after an hour, the duration allowed by a city permit.
Deputy Mayor Ron Salahuddin, among officials who emerged from city hall to witness the event, said he would like it repeated, possibly every two months in the same location. "Especially if the economy is not going to get better any time soon," he said. "This is about helping people on a basic level."
"We need more of this. You just can't start something like it and then cut it off," said Eugene Roberts, a father receiving disability assistance, who came to the event with his 9-year-old son. Salahuddin said a galvanizing figure like Best is needed, to see the effort happen again.
Best served 17 years in prison for robbing banks and turned to community work to save young people from going down the same road. He was nominated by actor Forest Whitaker last year to be honored for his work in Newark at GQ magazine's Gentlemen's Ball in New York City, and has been one of the subjects filmed by Whitaker in "Brick City, an upcoming documentary series about the city. The donations arranged by Best and his helpers yesterday came from several businesses, including the Twin City and El Pueblo supermarkets, 27 Mix bar and restaurant, Gencarelli's Pizzeria, and McDonald's.
Newark Now, Goodwill Industries, Renaissance Community Development, Stop Shootin, People's Organization for Progress, and West Ward Collective were among the groups to also lend assistance.
Best said he was encouraged by the support, and hopeful to take the event to other cities.
"We're not stopping here. We want to take this around the world," he said. "Because more so than ever, there's a need for love and giving.
Ex-cons lock up the right to vote
Re-registration draws around 50 to Newark - Tuesday, September 30, 2008
By KATIE WANG - Star-Ledger Staff
After serving time for an aggra vated assault 10 years ago, Adrielle Felton was under the impression she could never vote again.
At the time, she did not realize New Jersey was one of 20 states nationwide that allow ex-convicts who have completed their sen tences to reregister to vote. But yesterday she was among dozens of ex-offenders who showed up at Newark City Hall for a voter registration drive. "I feel good," said Felton, 30, who now works at an after-school program in Newark.
The registration drive was organized by Newark City Council President Mildred Crump, who called New Jersey's law restoring ex-offenders' voting rights a secret.
"Disenfranchisement can take many forms," Crump said. "When ex-offenders don't know their rights or are prevented from exer cising their rights, particularly the right to vote, our entire community suffers."
Crump said restoring the right to vote helps ex-convicts blend back into society and rebuild their lives.
"Too often when we think of disenfranchised voters, we forget about the ex-offender population," she said. "Today we're encouraging ex-offenders to beat the rap once and for all and register and then go to the polls and vote on Nov. 4."
Nearly 50 people gathered in Newark to bring attention to this law and to bolster the number of registered voters in the state. The deadline to register for the Nov. 4 presidential election is Oct. 14.
Crump introduced Earl Best, a community activist most commonly known for his nickname, the "Street Doctor," as a model for ex- convicts to restore their voting rights. Best, a former bank robber, had been in and out of prison for 17 years. He's been out for eight years now.
Standing on the steps of City Hall, Best waved a blue ballpoint pen in the air and said he has been waiting to register to vote for years. He has never voted in his life.
"I am hoping I will be the first domino to fall," Best said, encouraging other ex-convicts to follow his lead. Eric Jackson, 43, of Newark was one of those who registered to vote. Jackson, who was locked up in March for drug charges, said he wanted his voice to be heard in this historic election. He said he plans to vote for Democratic nominee Barack Obama. After completing his paperwork, Jackson said, he felt ecstatic. "I feel like I count again," he said. Not everyone was allowed to register yesterday. Glenda Ranger, 53, who is still serving probation, said she thinks she should be allowed to vote again. "I feel like I'm being cheated and dismissed," she said.
Katie Wang covers Newark. She may be reached at (973) 392-1504 or kwang@starledger.com.
Newark's 'Street Doctor' gets star treatment
by Barry Carter / The Star-Ledger
Sunday October 19, 2008, 8:30 AM The Star-LedgerBarry Carter The phone call caught him off guard last month.
"I thought it was a bill collector," Earl Best said.
But the lady on the other end was from GQ Magazine and she wasn't calling about his trademark, candy-colored suits.
She told him actor Forest Whitaker was moved by his community work in Newark and nominated him to be honored Oct. 15 at the magazine's Gentlemen's Ball in New York City.
"I couldn't believe it," Best said. "I'm still smacking myself."
Praise has come his way often since he walked out of prison seven years ago. There have been plaques and parent testimonials of his dedication to save kids from the same streets that claimed him. He tells the youth how he ran with the wrong crowd, how it led to 17 years behind bars for robbing banks. They know him as the "Street Doctor," a name he's given himself, because the streets are where he shows young people a better way than violence, gangs, incarceration and death.
Film crews have followed him around, and there have been numerous television interviews, all attempting to chronicle his tireless labor in Newark neighborhoods. But having Whitaker honor him at the GQ event was huge, especially since the Oscar award-winning actor did not let on when he met Best two weeks before the phone rang.
They were on Linden Street in front of the Street Warrior offices, an organization Best started with ex-convicts like himself to make a difference in Newark. Whitaker walked up to Best that last week in August. He shook his hand, then bowed out of respect.
"I like what he is doing and accomplishing in the community," Whitaker said. "When you see someone that determined, you know you have found somebody you want to celebrate."
Whitaker learned about Best from Newark officials and film footage in a documentary he's doing on the city. Best was never more excited to know that he was being recognized on such a grand scale when the lady from GQ contacted him.
"This feels like I won the Nobel Peace Prize," Best said.
Best was at the Edison Ballroom Thursday night where GQ hosted the Gentlemen's Ball, a classy affair of the Gentlemen's Fund, an initiative of the magazine that encourages individuals to be agents of change.
He mingled with corporate giants and celebrity ambassadors like Whitaker, whose foundations have partnered with GQ to raise funds that support five pillars the magazine believes are essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment and mentorship.
Best was taken aback by it all. This was his national spotlight. When he arrived in a chauffeur-driven car, the magazine made the evening special for celebrities, their honorees and guests. They stood on a black carpet with gold GQ letters underneath a white canopy. A throng of fashion and entertainment media interviewed them as tourists gawked nearby, trying to catch a glimpse.
Inside, Best met GQ publisher and vice president Peter Hunsinger, who said the fundraiser started last year to commemorate the magazine's 50th anniversary.
"We are recognizing men who are working to improve the lives of others," he said.
Best moved about the venue, sitting with Whitaker, chatting with corporate sponsors. He ate Alaskan Halibut cooked in Stella Artois citron butter. It was served with wild rice and lemon snow peas. At tables to his left, there was R&B singer Usher, rapper/producer Timbaland and actor Mark Wahlberg. Each of them have foundations like Whitaker and they paid homage at the event to people whose work reflects the five causes the magazine champions.
Whitaker talked about Best passionately, telling 300 people in the room that his honoree is not interested in accolades, that his mentorship heals the human condition and makes the world a better place.
"He wants to be able to continue to work and walk inside the lives of others," Whitaker said.
When it was his turn, Best spoke from the heart. He didn't think he would ever be in a room with so many important people. He thanked God for the moment and blew a kiss skyward to remember his mother, the late Rosie Best, who passed away this year.
"I'll never forget this day my whole life," he said. "Once I leave here I come out of this pinstripe (suit), I come out of this flower (corsage) and I'm back in the ¤'hood, cause that's what I love to do."
N.J. Man's Makeshift Memorial Torn Down
Newark Murder Victim One Of Many
NEWARK (CBS) ―
He's known as the "Street Doctor," and he's raised more than $50,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrests of the suspects responsible for the murders of three college students in Newark - now his own young cousin has become a murder victim.
And you wouldn't believe the pain his family had to go through Wednesday.
There was outrage on the streets after a memorial for a young man murdered in Newark was torn down.
CBS 2 was at the makeshift shrine for an exclusive interview with Robin Canzater, heart-broken aunt of 23-year-old Sutan Johnson, a victim of violence. Upon arriving, balloons were flying away from the memorial. That's when the family of the young man reacted.
Robin told CBS 2 she had gone to the memorial to place a picture of a her nephew to then find the balloons missing.
"Only 23-years-old, and the city ordered them to remove this…that's not right," she said.
It turns out, witnesses say, a Sanitation Department supervisor dismantled the memorial to Johnson. Apparently, no reason was specified. But sanitation workers found at the scene told CBS 2 they stood up to the superior when they were ordered to bring down the shrine.
"We refused to do it, we want no part of it," said Sanitation Department employee Gary Brown.
So the supervisor took matter into his own hands and let the balloons go. Afterwards he refused questions and made no comments on his actions.
Most outraged was Sutan's cousin and non-violence advocate, the "Street Doctor."
"When you all pulled up the guy jumped in the truck and ran. You don't take balloons down…That's how they do for the dead in Newark, they get balloons," he said.
"I'm hurting again, two days before his funeral, two days. I just want to say this; we need to do something about the murders in Newark, we need to put closure on all of them," said Robin.
Sutan's family replaced the balloon and received an apology from the head of the Public Works Department. They would not tell CBS 2 however, why this happened.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Newark Effort To Stop Violence Starts With Youth
'Street Warriors' Program Helps Gets Kids Off The Streets
by Deborah Garcia
NEWARK (CBS) ― In the wake of last weekend's horrifying triple murder, the city is now cracking down in a hard-pressed effort to prevent further violence in the community.
This comes as children reflect on just how lucky they are to be alive.
"It could've been me just hanging out over there at night," said 15-year-old Tahjil Whitehead. "They could have just told me to come and go with them ... and I could've gotten shot."
Whitehead joined dozens of other Newark teens in the Street Warriors program, a group that works to turn young adults away from a life of crime.
"We come in as that big uncle or that big father organization, where we do intervention and prevention," explained Abdul Muhammad, the program's director. "To show the right way and some type of right guidance."
It was the type of guidance that helped Jerry Baines get out of jail and turn away from the Crips – the gang he joined at the age of 9.
"It ain't all about hustling on the corners and gang banging," he said. "Or killing another black brother cause he's wearing red. It ain't all about that."
There are only 23 children in the program as of right now, as thousands more continue to slip through the cracks.
"If you look at the violence that's in our community, a lot of it comes from our young people being out after hours," Muhammad said.
The city of Newark does have a curfew in place in effort to stop crime. While children under the age of 18 are not allowed to be out on the streets between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., critics say police do not enforce the rule.
ANNOUNCEMENT- November 04, 2009
THE STREET DOCTOR PLANNING A 50 STATE TOUR
Earl "The Street Doctor" Best has began planning a 50 State tour through the country. The Street Doctor will travel through the 50 states and speak on issues dealing with violence, gang awareness, youth issues & motivational speaking. Street Doctor will share " the prescription to the violence" in this 50 state tour. The tour will begin TBA, but for more information or to book street doctor in a city near you please contact him directly.
( Information on the contact page.)
AUTHORITIES SAY NEWARK MAN FATALLY SHOT IN DRUG BUST STRUGGLED WITH OFFICER
BY STAR-LEDGER STAFF
November 05, 2009,6:45 PM
Ledger While at the shooting scene, Saleenah Baines cries for her stepbrother Amar McLean,
who was shot and killed in Newark today by an Essex Country officer during a drug bust. NEWARK—
A Newark man was shot and killed this afternoon by an Essex Country Sheriff’s officer during a
Struggle following a drug bust, authorities said.
The shooting unfolded at Springfield Avenue and South 15th Street in Newark where the officer, dressed in plain cloths, approached the 23-year-old male on information that a drug dealer was operating at the site, said Paul Loriquet, Spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. The officer, part of the narcotics bureau from the Sheriff’s office, was being assisted by the drugs and gang unit from the Prosecutor’s office.
When the officer walked up to the man, they began struggling. Loriquet said during the fight, the officer fired his service weapon into the man side, but the struggled continued.
After the man was handcuffed, he was taken to the university Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:30 pm., said Loriquet. The officer, a 17-year veteran of the department, was also taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries sustained during the incident.
A Maplewood resident, who was walking on Springfield Avenue near the shooting scene, said she heard a single gunshot and later saw a man facedown on the ground with handcuffs behind his back next to the Laundromat, Bill’s Wash & Dry. Police officers later took off the cuffs off his shirt, revealing a large bullet wound on the left side of his chest, said the women, who declined to give her name.
Linwood Rogers, who was working in a back room of the Laundromat, said he heard the shot and then walked over to a window and saw the bleeding man lying facedown on the ground handcuffed. Investigators confiscated 20 bricks of heroin worth about $4,000 from the deceased man. Loriquet said it was not clear if the man had a weapon.
Ledger Tracy Baines, mother of the shooting victim, is comforted by Earl Best, known as the street Doctor, at the scene of a shooting on Springfield Ave in Newark today. Loriquet declined to immediately name the man shot and killed, but family and friends gathered near the shooting site identified him as Amar McLean.
Saleenah Baines, who said she was McLean’s step-sister, said she was on the phone with her brother shortly before the shooting. Only later from her other brother did she find out McLean was killed.
He was trying to make something of himself. He doesn’t sell drugs,” she said
Baines said McLean has a 3-year-old son and another child on the way. He also likes to go into music studios and rap, she said. In addition to his children, he leaves behind four siblings including herself and his mother, Baines said.
“It was wrong of them to do that, “she said, accusing the officer of shooting her brother without a cause.
About 30 people gathered at a street corner near the shooting as they cried and comforted each other.
Earl Best, an activist known as “Street Doctor”, also came to the scene to comfort Tracy Baines, McLean’s mother.
“We want an immediate investigation outside of Newark and the prosecutor’s office”, said
Sheriff Imenhotep, a member of the Newark chapter New Black panther party, who also accused the police of excessive brutality, “we want an immediate investigation from the Attorney General’s Office,’ Loriquet said the professional standards bureau of the prosecutor’s
Office and the internal affairs department of the sheriff’s Office will be investigating the shooting.
Saleenah Baines said her family plans to file a complaint with internal affairs.
