Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George speaking on Kennedy Street NW.

by Cesse Ip

On Friday, January 13th, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George called a press conference to address the high level of gun violence that Ward 4 has seen since the beginning of the year. The press conference was at the corner of Georgia and Kennedy, a corridor that is no stranger to gun violence.

Councilmember Lewis George brought together members of the community with her to the press conference to share a common message:

“Put the guns down.”

She started the conference by recounting how this past week she has responded to numerous shootings, most recently one that involved victims as young as 6 and 9 years old who were coming home from school. She then told the audience, mostly made up of media outlets and community members, that most of the violence stems from beef between different crews.

The crews have decided to have conflict over things that they saw on Instagram, Tiktok and “absolutely nothing,” according to Lewis George. She stated that the student that was shot earlier this week is being incredibly brave, but is scared. She stated that our community doesn’t deserve to feel like they cannot go home from school or walk in their neighborhoods because they fear gun violence.

She acknowledged that young people have every right to be angry about issues like gentrification, displacement and lack of opportunities. But, she said, "Killing each other is not the answer. That's permanent displacement."

Behind her stood violence interrupters, some who are former members of crews, some who have been in jail before. Lewis George said that the violence interrupters would tell the people who are involved in the gun violence that there were only two options if they stay on their current path: jail or in the ground.

However, today the Councilmember was there to offer those youth a third option.

“If you need a job, we will get you one. We will get you mentoring, tutoring or a space to call home. We are ready to fight for you to make your life conditions better."

Community members and others speaking at the press conference.

She told the audience that her grandmother said that it took a village to raise a child, and the Councilmember said it would take a community to end gun violence. Behind her came members of the community who were there joining her plea to cease fire and pledge to help them reach the resources they need. Several church leaders stood with the Councilmember, leaders from DPR Emery Recreation center, violence interrupters and neighbors.

Several of those standing with Councilmember Lewis George spoke as well, and the same message was repeated over and over: Put the guns down.

Churches vowed to stay open 24 hours to pray for the end of gun violence. They promised to send out people to talk if they needed conflict resolution, they would help them find the resources they needed to change their situation. Community leaders begged to follow in the path of Martin Luther King Jr, who stood for peace. DPR said that they were open and had programming available to engage youth, including boxing and basketball. Lewis George pledged that she and her staff would help people get what they needed, jobs, SNAP benefits, government connections and more.

When asked how they were going to make sure that the right audience received the message, the Councilmember pointed to her violence interruptors. She said that those hard-working men and women were on the streets every day, trying to resolve conflict. They would be the ones passing along all the messages shared today.