Rev. James Barnett calling on youth to “Stop the Killing”

By Fran Farrer

CHARLOTTE, NC – For more than three decades, Rev. James Barnett has been calling for, “Unity in the Black Community,” and calling for the youth to lead the crusade, but homicides continue to increase.

Rev. Barnett, the founder of the oldest crime fighting organization in Charlotte, “Stop the Killing Crusade,” has bellowed from the top of his lungs one particular verse from Exodus 20:13, “Thou shall not kill.” Yet, the numbers continue to rise.

Communities gather when White police officer kill Black youths and adults, yet they fail to gather for these crusades. It is truly going to take a village to reduce the number of homicides for Black males and females, which means more bodies must be on the ground working.

Rev. Barnett’s last rally was Saturday, May 8, 2021 with less than 20 people in attendance and half of them were Caucasian. There were more than 100 deaths in 2020, many brutal, and many could have possibly been saved if neighbors just spoke up. A simple conversation, with a youth you feel, may be headed in the wrong direction, just may prevent a collision.

The list of elected officials financially contributing to the cause is great, but the numbers of active citizens is decreasing. Fear of personal harm is causing many not to reach out, but they may consider informing without leaving personal information.

We cannot complain if we are not part of the solution. And we cannot leave it to police officers to solve the problems; the criminal out number them more than 50-to-10.

Support Rev. Barnett’s next crusade, we will continue to place the dates on our weekly calendar.

“Stop the Killing.”