Local advocates discuss juvenile crime and HB 814

The YES Act

MARYLAND – Juveniles, Jail Time, and Justice. Local advocates are concerned about children being convicted as adults instead of adolescents.

Local organizers in Wicomico County are pushing back on House Bill 814, legislation that can automatically charge minors as adults if they commit certain crimes. A panel discussion was held July 30th where the community weighed in, “And how are the Children?” was the title. The discussion was held at First Baptist Cultural Center in Salisbury.

Fenix Youth Project 

Panelist and advocate Amber Green of the Fenix Youth Project says there are too many things to dissect when it comes to youth committing crimes and what leads them there.  “When you forget the child, the child will burn the village down. When you forget the child, the child becomes the monster… We have people being raised in hotels and have to be picked up by van to go to school. They’re not living the American Dream, they’re not living anything that we would feel is easy.”

Wicomico County NAACP 

Unfortunately, many of our youth have hard lives and go through a lot. Monica Brooks is the President of the Wicomico County NAACP. She says we aren’t aware of what they go through sometimes because we don’t always take the time to figure it out. “We continue to talk about the youth but we don’t involve the youth, we don’t ask them and keep up with where they are.”

Caucus of African American Leaders

Many other leaders were there to discuss such a serious matter. The Caucus of African American Leaders was represented by Mary Ashanti who shared a similar sentiment. “We spend so many times trying to solve problems without involving the person. Without asking the person what they think, and when we do that. And I’m guilty too, when we do that that’s not showing the person respect.”

Building African American Minds (BAAM) 

Many times, leaders tend to focus on what they haven’t done, what they’ve done wrong, and all the lives we could have touched. Dr. James Bell of Building African American Minds, or BAAM spoke earlier on how their organization is viewing this situation. He says, that we often look at the negatives, but we don’t celebrate our accomplishments enough. “We talk about the problems so much, we don’t stop and say, ‘hey, what’s going right?’ And then let’s build on that as well, because there are lessons to be learned in your success.”

The Future Generation 

Speaking of things being done right, the night was ended with 19-year-old Gerome Young, a living example of why everyone was in attendance, and his mentor Byron Coulbourn is proof of why this work is needed. “My man, Mr. B right here, he’s my mentor. I am currently in a Homeless shelter, but it don’t feel like it because, he makes it feel like home. Even though, I don’t got what I want, I got what I need. So, I just thank him for real, because without him, I would still be sleeping outside.”

Moving Forward 

Organizers say they will continue to push for the Youth Equity and Safety or YES Act to push for the removal of automatic adult charges for the juvenile population on the Eastern Shore. Amber Green leaves with a final word on how we should deal with youth who are committing violent crimes. “We need to stop looking at what looks good and what looks easy and bring complex people to a complex situation, to deal with complex youth.”