Earlier this month, a few kids stepped up to the mic at a Cleveland City Council meeting to tell adults that gun violence is a problem and they don’t feel safe.
“Some kids are even scared to go outside … because of what’s happening out there,” said Marley McMichael, the 10-year-old daughter of New Era Cleveland’s founder Chairman Fahiem, who is also known as Antoine Tolbert.
“The kids and gun violence in our neighborhood is an ongoing problem. Every day our kids are dying or going to jail and getting locked up behind bars,” said Duwayne Wynn, who is 12 years old and goes by the name Chairman Wayne.
About Beyond the Comment
Cleveland City Council sets aside up to 30 minutes at its Monday night meetings to hear directly from residents. Some residents come to give public comments about issues that directly affect them and their communities, while others come as part of an organization or for their job. In Beyond the Comment, we catch up with some of the people spoke.
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Both Marley and Wayne are graduates of New Era Cleveland’s Kids Safe Zone Academy. The program creates a place where kids can go multiple times a week for meals, art therapy, leadership training and more, according to the sign-up page.
New Era Cleveland is part of a national effort with chapters across the country. Programming includes youth mentorship, financial literacy and, through its Street Is Watching program, armed safety patrols in high-crime areas.
Signal Cleveland met the kids at the storefront they call “The Cave” this week to hear more of their views on what adults should be doing to protect kids from violence.
Why did you choose to talk about gun violence?
Marley: Because gun violence is popular in our community. It’s always happening every day. We wanted to talk about something that is a problem so they can fix it.
Wayne: It’s like, it’s kids killing each other every single day.
What would you do to change it?
Wayne: Well, it’s not even the gun stores [are] the way that the kids are getting guns. I don’t know how they are getting the guns, probably ordering them off a site or robbing people for them. So, I think the adults need to get it together so that the kids can get it together. Adults keep leaving their guns around kids and then kids can easily get ahold of guns. If adults are keeping them safe, then kids won’t have accessibility.
Marley: Well, just like Wayne said, like, a lot of kids get guns without even knowing what it can do to other people. They just get a gun and use it for no reason.
How did you get involved in New Era Cleveland?
Marley: Well, [Chairman Fahiem] is really my dad, so like, I didn’t have a choice, but I wanted to be here. I just didn’t want to sit around watching TikTok, playing Roblox all day. I wanted to do something with my life, not just what a 10-year-old would do.
Wayne: My mom put me in the program – I don’t know how she found it – back in September. It’s fun, and we were actually learning stuff while having fun. They was teaching us about stuff school didn’t teach us about. Like Black History, the Bill of Rights, the Black Panther Party, that kind of stuff.
Why is gun safety important to you?
Marley: I know it’s a good thing to learn about gun safety, because sometimes you might never know that you have to use it. And a lot of kids don’t even practice using the gun. They just do it. Without no practice, no safety, no nothing … So if you are using a gun you should be using it for safety, not for killing people.
I’m sure there are people out there who think that you are too young to be learning about guns and some of this other stuff. What do you say to those folks?
Wayne: OK, so, us learning about guns, I don’t think that’s a problem. It’s about safety.
Marley: I feel like why wait to learn about it until you’re an adult? But when you’re a kid, you’re gonna already know like, OK, when I grow up, I’m gonna go do this. Let me get prepared. Instead of just say, “Oh, that’s way too grown. You shouldn’t be learning about this.” I should. For my own knowledge. A lot of people don’t say this in school because they don’t want us to learn about it. Because they say we’re too young. “You’re too young for guns.” We’re too young for everything.
What’s the best way adults can support you and other kids right now?
Marley: A lot of grown-ups tell them school is gonna be OK, but they are still traumatized. When the parents say, “Oh, it’s gonna be OK,” it makes it feel more unsafe because when you see that – you know you’re going to have to go through it again.
It sounds like what I’m hearing you say is that adults tell you it’s going to be OK and then it isn’t. What would you prefer they say?
Wayne: They should be saying, “OK, let’s think of a way to fix this problem.”
