After a fight broke out in downtown Silver Spring at an unlikely event—a non-violence concert, some locals have stepped behind their computers to address their discontent with the level of escalating violence in the area, while youth advocates regroup in their journey toward non-violence.
At the youth-led non-violence concert held March 7 on Ellsworth Street, a circle opened up in the middle of the crowd, there was screaming, and individuals wrestling and fighting on the ground, according to a police report. Sixteen adults and juveniles were arrested for offenses such as assault and disorderly conduct, according to a police press release.
Many bloggers have addressed their discontent with the chaotic scene at the concert, while others applaud the efforts of Mixed Unity. Bloggers cited lack of adult supervision, the large crowd of teenagers, and effectiveness of police as qualms—some people were shaken up and upset the fighting ruined their night out.
Despite the sour sentiments to the end of the event, organizers said the presence of violence substantiated many of Mixed Unity’s concerns and showed the concert wasn’t an end to violence, but the beginning of their journey to non-violence.
According to Heather Bradley Kubo, Mixed Unity’s program manager, there weren’t many people fighting, but people who were running made the area seem more chaotic. She said fear shouldn’t overshadow the group’s goals—instead, the emphasis needs to be put on the work that needs to be done.
“Youth need to be reached out to…there is a lot of critical discussion in Silver Spring that needs to be discussed,” she said to the group’s critics. “There was a fight, but other sentiments are coming out—the bloggers missed the message.”
At the event, councilmember George Levanthal told residents to be courageous and reclaim the streets of Silver Spring. “The streets of Silver Spring do not belong to gang bangers…the streets of Silver Spring belong to us,” he said. While Levanthal spoke of taking the city’s streets back from gang members, Kubo said the group supports inclusiveness as a solution to stopping the violence by engaging everyone.
Mixed Unity works with youth, former gang bangers and immigrants to prevent violence. “Pushing young people away isn’t going to solve the problem,” said Kubo. “Bringing them to the table is a must.” Kubo said the organization isn’t trying to validate gangs, but trying to determine the method and motives behind the violence.
Kubo said the group wants to reach out to everyone because violence affects everyone. “[We] wanted to get the message out to recruit more youth,” Kubo said of the group’s mission with the concert. “We want to show youth can address things in a positive way.” According to Kubo, the youth have a lot of influential power among their peers, while sometimes adults aren’t able to relate.
Many teens as well as adults are woeful about the area’s violence and want to have a voice in efforts to end the violence. Adrian Hinojosa, 17, a member of Identity, a local youth organization, is weary from violence and wants to help make the voices of the youth heard. “We’re tired of it—we want people to stop acting like fools,” he said. “We want to bring people together…people are scared to come outside—we’re not scared—we’re a community.”
Mixed Unity has been working together on the safety issue for residents and youth, according to Noelle Haile, a member of Impact Silver Spring. While some residents are fearful of events such as the concert because they are said to bring in large crowds and violence, some residents, youth organizers and police have different viewpoints.
Grace Henry said it’s important for teens to know that healthy relationships exist and that they don’t have to deal with negative relationships. She said these events raise thought and awareness. “Although it’s become commonplace—it shouldn’t be so common,” Henry said of youth violence. “It’s very important for the community to have these types of events.”
Although the estimated 7,000 people that gathered at the concert was more than Mixed Unity had projected, the group said its plans included local police, conflict security, undercover security and undercover police in the event.
According to Officer Duffy, of the Montgomery County Police, there is no need for residents to be scared to carry on with their usual business. She said large events like the concert, are usually accompanied by police to control the crowd. The cause of the fight has not been determined, but Duffy,said there was “no real reason…too many people in one area.”
Armando Morales, a Silver Spring resident, said we are doing fairly well with crime in comparison the D.C. area, but crime has increased since last year. “Police need to listen to the public,” he said. “There is something they can usually do to prevent these things from happening.”
Despite some bitter reviews of the stop the violence concert, the group still has the support of downtown Silver Spring. Laurie Yankowski, the marketing manager for Downtown Silver Spring, said “we don’t turn our backs on any groups,” while vowing to work with Mixed Unity again. She said the fighting was a disappointment to everyone because of the time and effort put into the event. “The actions of a few people shouldn’t overshadow what the event was intended to do,” she said.
According to Yankowski, there will be an events committee formed to decide what the next steps are for event planning. She said the group plans to scale down their events with more focus on raising awareness. She mentioned a bake sale as one of their potential smaller efforts.
Youth advocate Herson Bautista said the violence gave them motivation to keep their mission going. He said Mixed Unity was able to reach a lot of people behind the scenes, and the group will have more conferences, activities and events in store. “We know we did our part,” he said. “We are not stopping anytime soon.”
