9:29 p.m.: New group aims to curb youth violence

By Shawn McGrath

February 02, 2008 09:29 pm

— More than a month after about 30 people rallied at Anderson’s Martin Luther King Jr. statue to bring attention to youth violence, a group met for the first time Saturday with the aim of tackling the problem.
Calling the group Man in My Life, about 15 community leaders met at the Wilson Boys & Girls Club to discuss ways of curbing the problem of teen and young-adult violence.
“More men need to understand that young men are in trouble in our city,” said Jeff Cottrell, a program director with the Urban League of Madison County. “We can no longer sit on the sideline. We need to be active. Mentoring is the No. 1 thing we need in this community.”
Bill Jackson, co-host of the WHBU-AM radio program “Sunrise Saturday,” said the group’s formation was the outgrowth of the anti-violence rally held Dec. 23. That rally was in response to the shooting death of 17-year-old Ashtin Logan on Dec. 16.
Prosecutors have alleged Logan was shot to death by 20-year-old Jalon Johnson as part of an ongoing dispute. Johnson allegedly fired an SKS assault rifle at Logan’s home in the 2100 block of Madison Avenue, fatally wounding the teen. Prosecutors have since charged Johnson, who is being held without bond, with murder.
Jackson, who spearheaded Saturday’s meeting, said the inaugural gathering was to gauge participation and publicly unveil the group. He said Man in My Life will meet again Saturday to formally organize.
“We got a lot of input, and now we have to put that input to work,” Jackson said. “It was a good beginning.”
Jackson said the group would also work through the school systems and juvenile probation to connect with at-risk youths, those who are having either behavioral or learning issues.
“It’s a little bit deeper than just mentoring,” he said.
Those who attended the meeting said there was a real need for the group’s formation.
“The bad kids reach out to the good kids,” said Madison County Councilman John Bostic, D-3rd District. “That’s how the bad kids take over the good kids and that’s the problem in the school system. It’s (the) bad and (the) good. You hate to say it, but that’s the way it is. I think we can turn the bad into good if we work at it.”
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What’s next?
Man in My Life, a mentoring group formed to curb youth violence, will meet again at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Wilson Boys & Girls Club, 2200 W. 22nd St., Anderson.

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