Headlining Saturday's agenda was a push for county-wide implementation of school uniforms at the next school board meeting.
Also on the short-list of immediate goals is to make a plea to city council for a curfew and a host a Youth Appreciation Day. The committee was formed to tackle the increase in gun violence in the city and county.
The informal meeting, which was held in a classroom at the Highland Charter School building, started with some laughs over orange juice. It quickly became serious when one of the 17 attendees remarked that he was hungry for action.
"This is probably the 20th meeting I've been to like this," said David Ellison.
He said that others failed because all anyone did was talk about the issues and not work towards a solution.
"I am a man of action," Ellison said.
He suggested that the committee needs to make a name for itself by doing something that would increase its visibility. Its first initiative, he proposed, should be to request the school system adopt school uniforms. Many in the room supported the idea.
Sheriff Shep Jones said Richmond County schools have had mandated uniforms for a few years and that disciplinary problems in the system dramatically declined as a result. He said he supported the idea.
Tony Spaulding, a representative from the NAACP, suggested the committee appear at the school board's June meeting to push the idea.
"The board responds to numbers," Spaulding said.
Many of the members resolved to attend the meeting.
Several felt they could have uniforms in place by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.
Terence Williams, committee co-chair and member of the school board, declined to comment on the idea.
A school official said the committee is not taking the right approach for a change as dramatic as mandating school uniforms.
The official said the change needed to come from the parents and the individual schools, not from the system. The officials pointed to Richmond County schools as an example. At East Hamlet, the parents were the ones who initiated the change to uniforms. They created a committee to look at the legal aspect of creating uniforms and to come up with a proposal that everyone could find acceptable.
He said the transition was relatively smooth.
When the school system enacted a similar change across all its schools, it was much more controversial and less well received, he said.
The group also decided to hold a Youth Appreciation Day. It is tentatively planned for June 14, the first Saturday after High School graduation.
"It reinforces a positive relationship between community entities and the youth," said Kenton Spencer, committee co-chair.
Spencer said the group will also make a presentation to city council in favor of a curfew. He noted that many crimes happen after midnight and a curfew could reduce crime.
The committee's leaders have high-hopes for the committee.
Williams said he had hopes the committee will make a difference in the community.
"My expectations are that we are certainly able to enact change, but to facilitate change as well," Williams said.
"The central word for the committee is action," Spencer said. "We are here to enhance human capacity beyond what people believe they can achieve... our role is to empower members of the committee," Spencer said.
He explained that the committee's purpose is three-fold. While violence is the top issue, the Citizens Action Committee also seeks to assist economic development and create more recreational opportunities.
Spencer noted that the latter two initiatives will also help reduce violence in the community.
The committee was formed from an emergency meeting several church and community leaders held May 9.
Ellison said that it will also take the involvement of elected officials to meet the group's goals.
"I don't think we could do much without the county or the city," Ellison said.
He was very critical of a lack of elected officials at the meeting. While two members of the school board and the sheriff were present, county commissioners and city council members were noticeably absent.
"There's a reason why Curtis Leak, Herbert Rainer and Rembert Deberry are not here," Ellison said, calling out the three black council members for not attending the NAACP-sponsored event. "They treat us like second-class citizens... They don't come because they feel we can't do anything to them."
Williams agreed that more officials need to get involved.
"We are going to have to mobilize," Williams said. "We have to be taken seriously. If we don't have any political clout, then this is something they'll throw under the rug."
Spencer noted that many of these officials were not invited and may not have known about the meeting. He suggested that the committee should make an effort to get elected officials to participate.
He pledged to personally write invitations to elected officials for the next meeting, to be held May 29 at 6 p.m. at Bright Hopewell Baptist Church.
Ellison also said he believed the lack of involvement is an issue of race.
"One of the reasons why nothing happens is because [violence] is a black issue," Ellison said.
He speculated that, if the white residents of Laurinburg were the ones getting shot, the community would actually get together and try to stop violence.
"A bullet does not discriminate – that is a message we need to get out," Spencer said.
Ellison also noted that many of the reverends, ministers and other church leaders were absent at the meeting. He suggested that they should get more involved.
Spencer, again, noted that many of these individuals weren't told about the meeting so they didn't have the opportunity to attend.
The group decided to hold future meetings at churches, rotating which site hosts the event to try to get more people involved.
At least one person at the meeting was critical of the committee's zeal to get involved.
Rep. Garland Pierce said the members should go out into the affected communities and get a better feel for what the underlying issues are in those neighborhoods.
"You need to walk through these communities" and see "what creates that violence," Pierce said.
"A lot of us aren't even dealing with these issues," Pierce said. He said the people at the meeting all go home to their nice homes in safe neighborhoods and don't see the shootings that happen on a seemingly daily basis in the worse areas of town.
He added that he certainly doesn't deal with gun violence where he lives in Wagram.
"I support the issue, but we need to talk to people," Pierce said.
Spencer questioned this approach.
"If we know the problem, we need to do something about it," he said. "We can't save everyone – that's not what we're trying to do. We are trying to give them opportunity."
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