NORFOLK, Va. - Local leaders, business owners, students and a nationally-known civil rights attorney...all in one room.
Saturday morning, Norfolk State University hosted a panel discussion called "A Conversation on Crime in America." It's part of the Men for Hope organization's Celebrity Weekend.
The nonprofit's founder, Tony Brothers, is a business owner in Downtown Norfolk. Brothers invited renowned attorney Ben Crump — lawyer for the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others — to join the discussion.
“I wanted him to show up and say, ‘Hey listen, this is about change.' This is about, 'I’m showing up to say, hey, we can do better, not just as the black community, the white community and everything, but it’s not going to happen unless we talk to each other,'" said Brothers of the visit.
Brothers, a former NBA referee, is one of several business owners that have voiced their concerns following a handful of shooting incidents in Norfolk's Downtown area over the last several months.
Others on the panel included Norfolk's Mayor, Kenny Alexander, Interim Police Chief Mike Goldsmith and City Manager Chip Filer.
Mayor Alexander pointed to a number of short-term solutions, including code and permit enforcement, surveillance and traffic enforcement, as ways to combat violence, but he says social and economic disparities are long-term issues that need to be addressed too.
"Long-term is that intervention, is that prevention, is that accountability, is that reporting very early when there are red flags in the home," he said.
Crump pointed out that crime isn't an issue for only one group of people.
“Where we fall short is when we start not to see value in every citizen, whether it’s the black citizen, the white citizen, the brown citizen. We have to see the value and know that all of us could make it a better community, a better America," he told the packed auditorium.
In addition to leaders from other cities and the State Capitol, the audience was largely made up of NSU students.
