There is Something about Philly

When your folks, Barry Michael Cooper, (I see you hustlin'),
sent me this video of Philly Swain, I thought.
Ummm. Perfect for my Philly post.

Between the Constitution, the Murders, Freeway and
the Liberty Bell, there is something about Philly.

Philly has a had 400 murders in 2006.

This year they have had

OG, speaks on the young bucks,

So far this year, more than 315 people have been killed, a pace of well over a murder a day, police said. That’s a higher rate, according to FBI statistics, than much larger cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

But Philadelphia’s situation is different today from years past in that more and more of the killers are teenagers, according to the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office.

“They just shoot at anything and everybody, without even looking,” said Shawn Banks, a former drug dealer and gang member. Now in his 30s, he said the new generation that rules the streets is made up of kids who shoot first and never consider the consequences.

And they are murking popo out there.

Cassidy, 54, was one of three Philadelphia law enforcement officers shot in four days. The other two officers survived, but the crimes' brazenness shocked this city. A suspect in Cassidy's death was arrested in Miami on Tuesday.

Even tho' there has been much written about the murders little has
been written about the thousand's of Black men who got together for the
purposes of organizing the community against the murders that
are taking place in the hood.

Most notable about those present to informally address the gathering crowd was a proactive do-it-yourself approach to the rehabilitation of black communities. Peace Ombudsman Edgar Lee age 78 of West Philadelphia was representative, handing out flyers for the New World Development Corp. which encourages "Grass roots neighborhood responsibility and problem solving" through block meetings with young people.

The element of self sufficiency to the event reminded me of the
Million Man March, for Philly.

It almost seems like Black people need to come together
publicly, THEN proceed to get organized.

And quite honestly if there is follow through, which we are in fact
challenged in that area.

Nothing raised the energy in the crowd more than Bruce Crawley's economics lecture on opportunity, inequality, and the importance of supporting the black community by shopping at black owned businesses and developing a black economy. He also addressed how a shift in hiring practices could make it easier for ex-convicts to reenter the workforce. Clearly the crowd was interested in work. The potential could really be felt in the air. It's also the movement's response to both sets of money questions. How do they fund the project? According to Collins' rebuttal in the Philly Daily News, "The finances are evolving from private donations at present," and as long as people are wiling to donate their time, the needs of the project do not overwhelm the combined support of Charlie Mack and company, churches and black organizations, and some help from t-shirt sales. How will they address the root problem of young men who don't see legitimate economic opportunity? This same black community's growth into an increasingly self-sufficient economy; enterprise and employment.

In other Philly news, Freeway just released an album.

As did Jilly.

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Why do you think Philly is representative of so many
of the juxtapositions that make America what it is?

Why are there so many murders there?

Deep music history, found fathers connection,
egregious crime rate, fertile ground for emcees?

What is it?

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