A plea for end to gun violence
Speakers at Albany rally decry recent shootings
Donya Edmonds says she is brokenhearted. Her 18-year-old cousin, Zy-quaveone Mayo, was shot on Saturday night at First and Quail streets. He was one of four people hit in a driveby shooting and the only one who died.
It’s why Edmonds joined dozens of others from the West Hill neighborhood on Tuesday night to speak out about gun violence in Albany. She stood, with a bullhorn in her hand, at the crime scene corner asking those present to come together.
Saturday’s violence brought the number of people who have been shot in Albany this year to 91 — part of a plague of gun violence that is happening in cities across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“You got parents that know their kids are out here doing wrong,” she told the crowd. “But do they force them to do any better? No.”
The rally, organized by Albany 518 SNUG, Trinity Alliance and Albany House of Peace, urged those who inflict gun violence on the children of their neighborhoods to stop. With cries of “Less guns, more books” and “Live in
peace, not rest in peace,” many spoke passionately about how gun violence is ripping the community apart.
Justin Gaddy, an outreach worker/ supervisor with 518 SNUG, said the anti-violence program wants to raise awareness about gun violence.
“We are familiar with individuals in the community and we know the families affected by the violence,” Gaddy said. “I like to see peace. I’d like these kids to grow up and be something in life instead of them being victims of the community and victims of circumstance.”
He was wearing a face mask in memoriam to Elijah Cancer, a member of 518 SNUG who was killed in July 2018, another record-breaking summer of gun violence in Albany. Gaddy said Cancer’s death affected him deeply.
“We need people to guide them out of the streets; we need people to come into the streets and help them out,”
Gaddy said. “When I hear someone else is shot, I say ‘Hey, this could be my son.’ It’s not normal.”
Gregory Sears, a social worker with 518 SNUG, said too many parents are not tuned in to their children. The pandemic is making it worse because many of the activities teens were involved in are shut down.
“This is a community problem,” Sears said. “We need help to the community. We need the answers. But people are scared. They have no control of their kids. There is no accountability. That’s the problem.”
Mayor Kathy Sheehan said she joined the rally so that the neighborhood could see that she supports their efforts.
“This is an opportunity for people to share what they want and believe what the needs are,” Sheehan said. “They can share their pain, their hopes and their vision for the community. It’s empowering. They have the tool and this community needs to be seen.”
Meanwhile, a mother of four young children, Ronika Kidwell, who sat on her stoop, said she’s scared. When she heard the shots on Saturday evening, she raced and gathered her children close to protect them.
“It’s the hood. Living in the hood, it’s ...” Kidwell ended with no more words, just shaking her head.
Edmonds said that a gang task force needs to come in and help the neighborhood. She said she is sick of hearing excuses from the city and the courts and she is sick of the number of guns on the street, available to children. She wants more opportunity for the children of West Hill.
“It breaks my heart because I have to see my family mourn,” Edmonds said. “We’ve been out on this corner before. Everybody talks about wanting to change; we can’t wait until someone else gets killed. It breaks my heart that we can’t get together in peace . ... At the end of the day, everyone is hurting, everyone is crying. It’s sad.”