DJ Larry Love is making some real sense. I'm tired of hearing about CV violence. People have been pushing the social programs and social worker nonsense for over ten years now. Its not working! Its time for real social workers and programs to hit the streets and be in direct contact with the troubled youth. The people should not allow these t****s at parties, bars, clubs, family gatherings, and social events. These people need to know they are not welcome in our community.

Great job L
Human action, even the act of a single individual is relational. Acknowledging this premise is essential for understanding the origins of violent acts and for discovering progressive strategies that might be helpful in preventing the behaviors of violence.
The psychological understanding of violence requires recognition as to how much method resides in violent madness, the extenuating levels indicative of psychopathology existing in the violence of daily living. It is important to diligently examine what is required for sustaining human life, especially what a child needs during the course of their childhood. Necessities include food, water, attention, education, parent, health care, and shelter. These needs constitute the basic needs for any child’s survival, and the development of a healthy environment during childhood should prevent future tendencies toward criminal behavior.
We need to asked ourselves as a community leader “ what is the CV youth problem? Job, food, shelter, parenting skills. We may need to work in this need, before start blame unemployed or single parents
Mr. Keep doing your job. L
100% leader

Wy can't we all get along?

"Why can't we all get along?"

A lot of frustrated people out there. A whole new culture of my hood has been developed. Materialism has hit us. Many want to live in the primetime without the primetime funds. Jealousy and hate kill. The value of life now has no value to many.

Those are not good answers but they are the answers.

The majority of Cape Verdeans are still in denial about the violence problem. We still have the "not my kids" denial.

BET is not a problem... I watch BET and i consider myself to be a successful graduate student.. I think CV ppl need to also stop denying the fact that some of these killing, although not right, are related to gang violence...... parenting.... parenting... parenting.... i call for that..... parents and youths need to get their priority right............ if watching novela is more important than talking to your child.... look at it........ for youth... if the clothes u wear and the shoes u rock are more important to you than your future,..... u need to get ur act together

That is the reason why parents need to talk to their kids and diferentiate tv drama from reality.... there is a lack of talking between most cv parents and their kids.. its parn of the culture that the child has nothing to decide that parents have all the knowledge and control..... that is one of the issues that i believe cause difficulties in communication between youth and their parents......

BET!!!??? People have found everyone else to blame but themselves. A home with a mother and father is what gets these kids straight. Mom is too busy looking for the new tacky furniture while Dad is too busy at the bar getting drunk while blowing the paycheck trying to pick up young hoochies. I never thought I saw BET as one of the reasons for violence. Violence prevention starts at home.

Too many people are promoting teachers and social workers to give kids basic social skills and teaching the difference between right and wrong. School is to learn English, History, Math, and Science. School is not to learn about the girl with two fathers or boy with two mothers. School is not about learning how to put a condom on a banana.

The poor kid that passed away was in an Alternative school. Missed at least 40 days of school. Both parents have been in CV for months supposedly taking care of business. There are serious problems with this picture. Is this the norm of CV violence?

In order for children to physically, emotionally and mentally develop they need their parents. In today’s society 50% of children are raised in single parent households. Traumatic changes can happen in a child’s life if a bond between the child and parent is broken. Do you have any idea how many divorce parents have been affected with violence issues in Dorchester?

Divorce affects how well a child does in life, so parents have to be the ones to proceed with caution, because their actions are what determine their child’s development and how well they do in life. Throughout your children’s life after the divorce, parents should incessantly observe their behavior for clues to how they are adjusting to the separation. There will be time when children would like to speak of what they are feeling, this is when they need you and the estranged parent to be alert and attentive.
I believe some people doesn’t even know how is difficult to grow up in the single parents house. We need to stop blame each other about violence in the Capeverdean community. Instead to blame BET, parent we need to come up with ideas, plan and possible solutions, strong programs to reach high risk youth, program to work with single parent, program to help young people look for jobs.

We need to stop act only when there is death in community.
Community members need to confront programs about their performance.
We need to close door to programs that do not reflect the need of the youth in this community.

Dear Friends,

I'm John Gonsalves Andrade 3rd, a third generation
Cape Verdean, second generation born an American citizen,
1950 in the City of New Bedford, Ma. My grandparents where
from the island of Brava and Fogo, one possibly born in
Portugal and/or Dakar, Senegal, came in the 20's by ship.
That is not alot of History about ones self, for someone as
Proud to be a Cape Verdean as I AM.

During the last three years, the spike of drug/gang? gun
related homicides in New Bedford, Boston and Rhode Island,
(Raymond P. Andrade, 1-31-76-1-25-04, Always In Our Hearts)
we responded by increasing community involvement thru meetings
city-wide and fighting back. During many meetings that where held,
we heard from our youth, who said, " we don't have anything to do,
don't know our leaders, our culture, our music, we don't have a
cultural center, who are our cousins, families, HISTORIES.."

Old Bedford Village Renaissance Project is for the teaching, telling,
showing, expressing and learning, history, culture, music, art,
literature and the humanities as it relates to the City of New Bedford's
ethnic and racial groups of color and the World. The Renaissance
Project, will compliment the Leardership and work being done by
Historians and Preservationist promoting African, African American,
Cape Verdean, Latino and other peoples of color, Histories !

We must support the ongoing activities of the New Bedford Historical
Society, Martha Briggs, Talmage Book Club, Parting Ways,
54Th Regiment, Underground Railroad, Frederick Douglas, Lewis
Temple, William H. Carney, Alfred J. Gomes, Manual Lopes,
Amilcar Cabral and The Ernestina to hold our place in History.
Common Threads !

The Journey of Cape Verde, In Search of Identity, will contribute to
the process, as did the Film on Norberto Tavares and the Charlayne
Hunter Gault "New News out of Africa", book signing, of bring people
together to have a dialog as a people, for the future.
.
Program: 6pm Doors will open to meet with Director and Producer
Guenny K. Pires
6:30 Speakers :
Carleen Cordwell, VP. Old Bedford Village
Barbara Burgo, S. O. S. Save Our Schooner Campaign
Viola Pina, Ward 4 City Councilor
Our Special guest will be the
Honorable Maria de Jesus Mascarenhas,
Consulate General, Republic of Cabo Verde.
7pm Film The Journey of Cape Verde
8:30 Q&A
We are thankful for the generous support of the New Bedford Whaling
Museum, New Bedford Whaling National Park Services, AHA ! Night,
New Bedford Historical Society, Talmage Book Club, Parting Ways
and Old Bedford Village.Your support is also needed, the event is free,
but to help in defraying the cost your donations will be appreciated.
We are also sending out an, S. O. S. Save Our Schooner, appeal for
the Ernestina.

Please make checks payable to:
Old Bedford Village Development, Inc.
558 Pleasant Street Room 302
New Bedford, Ma. 02740

Thank you in advance, if you have called or e-mail for tickets, I got
your message so you have your tickets, call 508-993-8500 or see
you at The Whaling Museum door seating is limited.

Oh! by the way they also call me Buddy Andrade, I want to Know
more about my ancestors don't you, Nos ku nos, No Pintcha..............

Sincerely,
John G. Andrade
Executive Director
Old Bedford Village Development, Inc.

Programs, Programs, Programs, Services, Services, Services. That seems to be the magical answer these days to all of societies' problems. Too bad the Program and Social workers are not perfect human beings either. Most could actually care less and are using the position for other motives such as looking really good on a resume or some other political ambition. Social Workers out on the streets trying to communicate and find out what the problems really are means something. One playing video games and basketball all day with the kids in the gym is something else. Programs and services are designed to keep those using them dependent on them. The program and service directors need to stay employed and are constantly asking for more funds. One way of doing this is by keeping people dependent on them and not genuinely moving people up in the world. Minorities, the white poor, and Immigrants were better off in the days that there were no programs and services.

we cant blame anyone for the violence and nothing we do can put an end to it. No TV shows, no rap music, single parenting, divorced parents, or lack of family support pushes these kids {well adults to, cuz these kids are turning into men and women}to shoot or kill. It's like shooting is a new hobby, some ppl go hunting for wild animals and in the hood we hunt for human targets. Everyone is a target these days, u never know if ur gona return home once u walk out ur door. It's sad but true. I've noticed more police on our streets in these last few days, but half the time their harrasing the wrong ppl, and now they wanna dig deep and lock u up for anything, it's like they feel guilty for letting these shooters get away so they wanna target anyone who looks suspicious. I'm all for more police patrol but do it right. They have killers walking in front of them and not even know it. They arrest them shooters but within days they let them go, u best believe if someone shoots at u and u live next person they shoot at might die, so y do they let them out to kill, and when they kill they take off and are never caught{ at least not by the athorities} but once friends of the person they killed see them, u best to believe it's a rap. "Have u ever hear a judge ask anyone they sentence for murder y did they do it" all i know is this battle will never end, and it's sad cause we have so many mothers crying over their children. if ppl shoot for respect, then it goes to show u have no respect for ur own mothers. Take that and interpret it in anyway u want, but if ur smart u'll know what i'm trying to say. No matter what though these killers better beware, u might not get caught, but u'll be haunted for life by the person whos life u took away, and I know when u see their families, just before u brag about killing their son, brother, cousin, or nephew u get paralyzed for 1 minute cause ur not sure if ur gona walk away alive. I applaud Mario and Tina for the support they provide to families of murdered victims, but no matter how many pins u make and how strong u voice the seriousness of violence it's not gona end. Have u noticed those pins have become sort of a fashion statement, u see ppl wearing 5 at a time, it's not cute it's sad. I end this with great sadness because when 1 person dies the whole community grieves, thats just how Cape Verdeans are, and what makes it worse when ur child dies, it might be his killer's mother to be the first person at ur side to help u mourn...

No More Violence Please!! Can't we all just get along? What's all this violence about in the first place? Me looking you at the wrong way? Me looking at your Girl? Drugs? Why is it happening? That should be the first question. Identify the problem.

Menino is hiring 190 more police officers according to the State of City address earlier this week. He forgot to mention that 30 or so of them are laid off Municipal Police officers. What did municipal police officers do exactly? Patrol city owned buildings. These cops will probably be patroling the area know as the Combat Zone in Chinatown. There used to be a lot of prostitutes in that area. Its better press to arrest johns and prostitutes than it is to arrest drug dealers and thugs. Maybe they will find a lot of prostitutes and johns in Chinatown??

Deval Patrick was going to hire over 1,000 police officers. He was going to do it immediately. This week he announced that is going to have to wait longer with a whole lot of other promises that he made. Anyone call this guy's bluff?

Who wins with all of these great announcements: Dunkin Donuts. 100 more cups of coffee and donuts a day. They better expand the parking lot at the Dunkin Donuts on Mass Ave/Columbia Rd..

We can blame everybody, but the main responsible folks for the killings in our community are the parents. Until they accept that and start working towards changing their behavior, we will always get kids left to the "land of nobody" who end up running their lives as if their are adults. And because they don't know what to do, they will keep getting involved in risky and bad behavior such as killing each others due to street and peer pressure. So, to stop the violence, parents have to step up and start educating their kids the way they are supposed to. Once they do that, and if the problem still persist, we should look at other sources of this issue like poverty and lack of oportunities and options for our young men and women.

Economics, Social Position, Poverty, and Home Life are not reasons for criminality. Most people in most countries are far worse off in those terms compared to the thugs committing the crimes. We glorify these individuals too much.

Mr. Professor of Criminology

Can u share with us your citation? Most article I've been reading confirmed that there is a strong relationship between crime and economic, poverty, home, life.
I ask u to read the book Girls delinquency, and juvenile justice or understanding abusive family.

Student C. justice

Put the book down and look at reality. The guy who lives in the American Ghetto still economically better than 90% of the world's population. Our Cape Verde for example had extremely low crime rates prior to the time of mass deportees arriving. At the same time poverty was much higher. That goes for the rest of the world as well.

One book doesn't answer all the questions.

Mr. Professor of Criminology
One of the difficulties in making sensible judgments about youth crime is that it is frequently presented by influential people as if it were an almost unprecedented problem requiring tougher new powers to protect the public. It is sometimes seen as part of a modern disease brought about by rapid social changes, family breakdown.
However, comparing these recent pronouncements with the historical evidence soon reveals that such concerns have periodically occupied the minds of the respectable classes.
With all respect for u as a professor, I totally continue disagree with you. Maybe as a professor and CV member you should help us with some research in the capeverdean community. You will be able to see how many single parents has being affect with this issues, unemployed family member, family unable to provide food to their kids and health problem.
If u asks the young people why they sell drugs or commit crime. The answer will be “to help my family”
Try to visit 10 families in Dorchester or Roxbury. U will be surprise
Thank Mr. Professor.

Was nice talking to you

"Heart of the Matter"

Location: University of Massachusetts Boston at Campus Center
Previous Event Next Event

Heart of the Matter: Tuning In and Connecting with Today's Boys
Come learn how to mentor, heal and engage one of Greater Boston's most valuable population: our boys.

MODERATOR:
M.L. Carr, former Boston Celtic’s star and coach, founder of WARM2Kids

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Dr. William Pollack, Director of the Centers for Men and Young Men and the Director of Continuing Education (Psychology) at McLean Hospital; Assistant Clinical Professor (Psychology) in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

PANEL DISCUSSION:
Addressing our own race and gender biases

PANELISTS:

Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President, Wheelock College
Dr. William Pollack, Director of the Centers for Men and Young Men and the Director of Continuing Education (Psychology) at McLean Hospital; Assistant Clinical Professor (Psychology) in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
Randall Rucker, Executive Director, Family Services of Greater Boston
Alberto Vasallo, Jr., Vice- President, El Mundo Newspaper

WORKSHOPS:
· Spiritually based responses to post traumatic stress
· Identifying appropriate mentoring models for the ages and stages of boys
· Engaging boys at-risk outside of program walls
· Effective community, faith-based and civic partnerships to support boys at-risk
· The impact of risk factors on adolescent male development
· Male Role Models: Re-defining masculinity for today’s boys

RSVP:
This event is open to community, faith-based and civic leaders. Click "Sign me up" below or, for more information, please contact Mary Beth Stryker at 617-624-8153, or send email to

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

.


Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM


If you'd like to attend this event you can RSVP online.

For more information go to this:page:http://uwmb.convio.net/site/Calendar/559625862?view=Detail&id=3021


Once you have reservations, you can still click Sign Me Up to increase or decrease the number of people in your party (subject to availability).

Sign up here:http://uwmb.convio.net/site/Calendar/349535057?JServSessionIdr012=fi3ojnnc01.app2b

I was speaking to a friend of mine last night regarding a similar problem our youth face. Three generations maybe four exist in our communites. This can be applied to Capeverdeans, Africa Americans and more. However the youth are disconnected from the struggle that came before them. They do not have a respect for it because they have not seen it. They have not been told. We pass our history through spoken word but we don't spend too much time doing that anymore. We can't expect youth to understand issues that it takes a lifetime to understand. They need help. Help can come in the form of programs, it can come in the form of mentorship, it can come in the form of love and maybe just a casual conversation. Let's not spend all of our time discussing the problem when we could be out being part of the solution. Be the change you wish to achieve !

Violence in our community can only restrained, I believe, once it is known its roots. As far I could gather many theories and speculations are in the forum, regarding the origins of violence within Cape Verdean Community. Pretty much, one can divide these theories into two: 'internalists', those who believe that violence is inherently Cape Verdean, and 'externalists', those who think that crime in our community was no more than an extension of the American violent society.
I tend to believe that the roots of violence can be traced by linking those two approaches of understanding the problem. It is part of our community, since our actions, or, better our inactions and omissions are alienating our youth, who find no better alternative than what they learn in the American cities' street. VIOLENCE IS OUR CONCERN. Every one that identifies as Cape Verdean should be concerned with this issue. It is time for us to act - individually, collectivelly, it does not matter, but the time is for action for community engagement. The points that all Cape Verdeans should concern are:
1. primarily education of the members of our community. Not only our youth needs to be (re)educated, but also us, the adults, who, in most situations, are self-ghettoized. We, adults, need to learn and understand the mechanisms of social living in a multi-cultural society. Without losing any sense of "Cape Verdeanity", engagement in the overall American society can provide us not only the knowledge of our rights and duties but also it enhances our organizational and associational skills (and, this can be translated into social capital, which can be used by our leaders as political capital in exchange for benefits before city, state, and even federal, governmental officials).
2. Although that it seems trivial, the issue of IDENTITY is very important for self-realization of community. Although for the outsiders we look as a compact group, the truth to the matter is we are going through a phase of IDENTITY CRISIS. Only when we could define who we are we can attrack people for engagement in our community.
As for the external causes of the violence, I would not spend much time since I believe it is pretty obvious: violence, as someone pointed out here, is American by birth (look into the history). Unfortunately for our kids, we are abondoning them and let them be socialized in this culture of violence of 'get rich or die tryin'". Moreover, issues such as poverty, poor quality of public schools in areas traditionally dominated by Cape Verdeans, linked to poor financing thereof can not be imputed upon us. These issues, as I stated above, can be partially (if not totally) resolved only by fomenting social engagement - which, by producing social networks and capital, can politically empower our community. Once politically empowered, governmental officials and political contenders will start to please us...
I. All of these can be attained by: UNIDADE E LUTA (Unity and Struggle, not necessarily an armed struggle, but, nonetheless, a struggle).
II. As Amilcar Cabral once said: "Aprender na vida, aprender nos livros e aprender com a experiência dos outros. Aprender sempre. " Never is late to extend your horizons. We change ourselves, if we try...

Cape Verdeanly,
Abel Djassi Amado
Boston

Cape Verdeans used to be better off when we tried to act Portuguese for better or worse that may seem. We used to be family oriented, peaceful, hard workers, known for our Morabeza. Younger people now want to model themselves after African Americans and unfortunately they took the bad side of those.

again we are blaming all the wrong ppl for for violence amongst our community. We cant blame anyone our anything. people are doing what they want cause they feel like it, u mean to tell me if they start seeing others jumping off of roof tops that their gona do the same. u guys talk about gangs, aint no such things as gangs in boston. Their all wanna bees. U wanna see real gang activities go down to LA, thats where u'll meet real gangsta and thugs. Up here people sell drugs cause it's easy money, they walk around with guns cause they think it's gona make them a bigger person, c'mon have u ever heard of any cape verdeans having a battle with the police department. They aint thugs their slugs, they aint gangstas they wangstas. These guys/girls wanna get together in a group and lable themselves as this or that. Thats all they are lables. Just cause your from 2 different sides were all breathing the same air, you have girls who wanna hang with these so called thugs and claim they rep their peoples and stay true to their "side" yeah ok next thing u know their on the other side sleeping with guys over there and then thats when the trouble starts, cause the minute that girl realizes that all the guy wanted was to sleep with her then she'll start telling her people on her side everything and anything about the dude that did her wrong and add more salt to the water and thats how the war starts. It's like Bonnie and Clyde out there. These young girls driving around with these dudes helping them commit their crime and do their dirt and in the end they always get in shit and the dude wont even call to make sure she's ok. Guys have girls carry their guns when they go to the clubs, they hide their drugs and guns at their girls house they have their girls setup their enemies. with all this going on you guys still point the finger in the wrong direction. no mother wants to raise her child to be a killer or a drug dealer, no tv show tells them to go out and do what they see, no rapper says go out and do what i do. The only good thing in it for these "gangstas" is that they dont get caught. They can shoot and kill and live in fear for the rest of their lives. and wats really funny the ones selling the drugs have nothing to show for it. Theirs nothing the parents can do anymore, the city needs to step up and make things tougher, we pay enough taxes and deserve a decent community to live in, our people are tired of living in fear.

It's not just the CV community that's going through these issues, just about all gueto communities, be they Haitian, Jamaican, Dominicans, African American, Puerto Rican, Mexican or White trailer trash, have intra-violence issues. And it usually involves a promiscous female, the type you describe in your post. She sleeps around with guys from both sides, east and west, gang A and gang B, and when she's wronged, she foments hatred which leads to ramped homicides. She's a specter of death in human form. No wonder rappers are so mysogynistic in their lyrics, they often think of all young 'hood' women as symbolyzing this type of girl.

I know there are bigger gangs. I came up in Boston when there were real organized gangs.
I am not disconnected from the real in the streets. I refuse to treat kids as adults. I refuse to say that the city has to step up because parents can't do it. Or because we wont do it as a community. I refuse to put the youth of my community in the hands of the United States judicial system w/o trying to help them first.

And yes they will jump off the roof. Thats what they are doing now. They are following each other to their graves. They following each other to poor performance and an "I don't give a F#%k" attitude. They are following each other to jail. The youth are leading themselves because "We" have failed to do so. . .

I have been censured. This debate doesn't try to solve the problems as it refuses the messages that ask for responsabilities.

I hope forcv is not just a webside trying to make money on the back of cvs.