WASHINGTON — Davon McNeal's middle school principal described him as a leader among his peers, who idolized Frederick Douglass and wanted his community members to succeed.
The 11-year-old was killed on July 4, in the shadow of the Frederick Douglass house.
“Could you imagine what the outrage would be if this was somewhere else in this city?” community activist Ron Moten said.
The boy was gunned down, police said, after a community block party organized by his mom – a violence interrupter.
“I get mad when people criticize violence interrupters," Moten said. "I did it for more than 20 years and people don't know you risk your life every day. You risk your family every day."
Moten knows the heartache and hard work it takes to reform your community from the inside. From 2004-2011 he ran a group called Peaceaholics, an anti-gang violence organization
"We sent over 160 children to college in a five-year period," Moten said. "We squashed over 40 major beefs in the city. Everybody wants everything to happen overnight and I'm sorry, it doesn't work like that. It takes work. It takes years of coordination with agencies, but most importantly, the community.”
Moten said activists and city leaders must address the trauma and inequities that he believes are the root causes of the violence in a community desperate for better schools, more grocery stores, better housing and more jobs.
“If we can invest in the developers, why can't we invest in the communities?" Moten asked. "When I say invest in the communities, I mean empower people to have something to live for! The city has done it, but we need to do more. You got to replace the gun with something else, because right now the gun is the only power that they know."
DC Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case. You can text an anonymous tip to 50-411.
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