By Mia Khatib
mia.khatib@triangletribune.com
RALEIGH — Supporters, parents and faith leaders showed up in droves to silently march from Word of God Fellowship Church to Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School last week.
The march was in solidarity for a student who was killed in a fight on campus, and an effort to heal and call the community to action.
“This is a deep loss to our community, not only to that family,” Wake County schools superintendent Robert Taylor said. “I’m invested every single day in this work, every single day for every single child. So let’s not let this end in one or two months. We know what we need. Families need support, our children need support, and that is what this work is about.”
Word of God Fellowship Senior Pastor Mitchell Summerfield was joined by other pastors in leading a prayer in front of the school doors. He told the press that clergy members have been gathering over the past four months to discuss school and public safety solutions, and last week’s incident “just sent up another red flag.”
To him, the first part of the solution was gathering together and letting the community know clergy, law enforcement and schools are united. “Emotional intelligence is everything,” and Summerfield hopes to see more off-campus mentorship opportunities for students.
“I think it’s important for our Black boys and our Black young ladies to be mentored by the ones that have overcome certain things,” the pastor said. “You cannot just throw them in the school system and let the teachers do all the work. Our community has to do more. We have to get involved.”
North Carolina Black Alliance Deputy Director Marcus Bass said the Montague Plaza, which sits right next to the school and will have a STEM Center on-site, is part of that solution, and other organizations will meet with Councilman Corey Branch later in the week to discuss how they can get involved as well.
“Montague Plaza offers options and opportunities, not only in how to be an entrepreneur and learn trades and skills, but also conflict resolution,” developer James Montague told The Tribune. “Now, we understand this is an important part of whatever we put into here. People aren’t just going to get along all the time, you’re going to have disagreements… but the key thing is to live afterwards.”
Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson told The Tribune the department has been in conversation with Taylor and the school system on how to make schools safer moving forward. All local high schools have a School Resource Officer on campus, and the SRO at Southeast Raleigh High found and tended to the victim last Monday.
“In this moment, you all are here representing, leading your entire student body. Let them know what you saw today and let them know that this is just the beginning. These pastors, these community members, these elected officials, they are right here with you,” Bass told the students in attendance. “The level of violence that we’re seeing across the country is not your fault. It is not the fault of students at Southeast Raleigh. As a matter of fact, we all are to blame… and now we’re here for accountability.”
Mia Khatib, who covers affordable housing and gentrification, is a Report for America corps member.
