According to the Star Ledger, dozens of men joined Trenton, N.J. Mayor Doug Palmer and media mogul Russell Simmons in an unplanned march April 10 in a troubled neighborhood where police believe a 7-year-old girl was gang-raped.
The march took place after a rally organized to promote discussion about among young people in urban neighborhoods.
Toward the end of the rally, Dennis Muhammad – founder of a group that helps youth stay out of trouble – urged men to march. Muhammad is also the founder of Peacekeepers, a similar organization targeting at-risk children, that Simmons said has made some progress in his hometown, Queens, N.Y. ?”We sit back sometimes and allow just a few bad eggs in our community to scare us off our own corners,” Simmons said, according to the AP. “I stood on (the) corner. I sold drugs. But I went back and saw what it felt like when we launched our Queens Peacekeepers movement.”
The city’s mayor said the rally and march were beneficial to the community and hoped other men would participate. “I think it’s a good beginning,” Palmer said while walking with Simmons and other community members. “The proof will be if we can get more men together in this and other sustaining activities.”