Gang members organize anti-crime meeting in Chattanooga

photo Norman Williams, left and Taiwan Greathouse, right, meet with Mayor Andy Berke Thursday to discuss how to stop gang violence in the city. Both men meeting with the mayor are closely associated with gangs.

At five minutes before 3 p.m. Thursday, only a handful of people milled around the meeting room where gang members hoped to talk about ways to stop the violence in Chattanooga.

It was to be an organic gathering -- not called by the city or the mayor or the police, but by the gang members themselves. It's time to put down the guns, they said. And they called on other gang members to show up.

And at 3 p.m. on the dot, they did show up. Cars rolled in and a mishmash of people walked into the room at Olivet Baptist Church's Kingdom Center on M.L. King Boulevard: attorneys and pastors and social workers and leaders of nonprofits -- and gang members. Not as many, organizer Norman Williams said, as they had hoped would come -- but some.

"We are here to stop the nonsense violence," Williams told the crowd of about 40 people.

Some clapped. Some cheered. Some were skeptical.

Mayor Andy Berke was invited to the meeting, although he declined to attend. Instead, he met with the organizers ahead of time for an hourlong conversation in City Hall -- what Williams called the "Chattanooga White House."

Williams said he and Taiwan Greathouse, another meeting organizer, discussed jobs and opportunities with the mayor in their meeting.

"When he got aggressive, we got aggressive," Williams said. "That's how it was."

Berke was not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.

While the city says about 60 gang members have landed jobs through the city's Violence Reduction Initiative since the approach was launched in March, Greathouse and Williams said that's not enough jobs to make a difference on the streets.

"There are between 1,100 and 1,300 gang members in Chattanooga," Williams said. "I told him to take that 60 to 600 and watch the difference."

The pair took a photo with Berke as "proof to the troops" that the meeting actually happened, Williams added.

Paul Smith, the city's safety coordinator, attended the meeting at Olivet Baptist and said he was glad the men set it up.

"I'm proud of these young men for stepping up to do the right thing," Smith said.

During the meeting, one 28-year-old gang member who said he had been involved with gangs since he was 11 stood up and described how he had landed his first job seven months ago.

Many in the crowd Thursday were there to offer help. One attorney offered to help people expunge criminal charges from their records for free.

Williams was surprised but not discouraged by the lower-than-anticipated number of gang members at the meeting.

"We don't see that many in the crowd just like us, but maybe in the next meeting they'll be here," Williams said.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.

Previous news report:

Upcoming Events