Kofi Taharka, chairman of the National Black United Front, said while society talks about peace, it doesn’t put forth alternatives in modern culture or reality.
According to the activist, there’s a push to put 1,500 more police on the streets of Houston and 20,000 crimes went uninvestigated.
“We’re saying we have to have a 180 degree shift in how we’re thinking about crime, violence and what impacts it. Let’s get to the root cause of it,” said Mr. Taharka.
Sociologists point out economics and education are primary factors that contribute to violence and crime, so the answer isn’t more police. They argue the answers lie in shifting resources to projects and programs run by grassroots organizations that have been effective, like Houston-based Project Forward and the Nation of Islam, he argued.