MPR’s Bill Wareham reports on National Urban Peace and Justice Summit at Mount Olivet Baptist in St. Paul.
Reports includes comments from Spike Moss, Minneapolis social worker; William Finney, St. Paul police chief; and James Battle, pastor at Mount Olivet Baptist.
SPEAKER 1: Organizers of the Twin Cities Peace Summit want to reduce violence by bringing area gang members together to talk out their differences. But there's more on the agenda than truce negotiations.
Organizers have scheduled workshops on economic development, history of religion and history of the peoples of color in addition to sessions on conflict resolution. Organizer Spike Moss, a Minneapolis social worker, participated in a similar national summit this spring in Kansas City.
SPEAKER 2: We left no stone unturned because there's a great number of problems that need to be dealt with. We've got a component that deals from the spiritual perspective. And then the last day, we have an all-denomination church service.
SPEAKER 1: City officials have reacted cautiously to the gang summit. Mayor Jim Scheibel says he'll welcome many of the national speakers planning to attend but stopped short of giving the summit any kind of official sanction. Police Chief William Finney says he may allow officers to participate if asked but worries about legitimizing criminal organizations.
SPEAKER 3: Now, whether or not it's a peace conference remains to be seen. We've seen a few of those conferences happen. We've seen them in Minneapolis. We've seen them in Kansas City.
And I leave it up to you. Have they provided any peace? I think you've seen record shootings in St. Paul, Minneapolis. So I'd have to think that it's maybe peace in name only.
SPEAKER 1: Organizers say they're disappointed but not surprised by the lack of official recognition. James Battle, pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church, will host the summit.
SPEAKER 4: As a pastor of Mount Olivet, I am tired of preaching eulogies of young people. I am tired of the jails being filled up with young people.
I am proud of these brothers and sisters that I have met, that are willing to come together and call our young people together to do something for themselves so we believe that we have great leaders out there that have been misdirected and can find the right direction to find some type of truth.
SPEAKER 1: The Twin Cities peace summit is scheduled for July 14 through 18 at Mount Olivet Baptist in St. Paul.
I'm Bill Wehrum, Minnesota Public Radio.
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