"JUST
WORDS"

A production of the
Center for Emerging Media

Produced by Jessica Phillips

Through a grant by the
Open Society Institute

Hosted by WYPR's Marc Steiner.

EPISODE 41
"JUST
WORDS"

Welcome to JUST WORDS.  The stories of working people in our community.

I'm Marc Steiner

Lorraine Mackey’s son Aaron was murdered by his fellow gang members over a year ago. He was only 18.
His life is over. But his death has given rise to Lorraine’s activism.

Over the past couple of weeks, she has told us what happened to her son, and the effect it had on her family, and she’s talked about how she thinks her son was failed by the police, the justice system, the schools, and more.

But what to do? If the system is broke, how can it be changed? Here are Lorraine’s ideas.

I think first of all from the mayor’s office to the governor’s office they need to do a through evaluation of the people they have hired. How do you evaluate these people before you hire them? And that is what is tearing our system down. Because if the leadership is not right, and you got people in these positions that are not fulfilling the requirements and doing the job then you need to clean house, plain and simple, and begin to set up organizations where people will respect it. But as long as we keep watching this stuff in the news everyday you going to keep losing the people no matter what efforts you do. And it’s not the mayor’s fault that these children are running around here killing each other. How can it be her fault? But if it was up to me, I would clean house, and evaluate who it is I got leading these places. I feel like, if they got money to invest in other projects…if you want to see this city become a better city then I would invest in the people, not just in building up another building or building up another bridge, you know. We need money to go into the productiveness of the people. And that’s it in a nutshell. You put quality leaders in these positions and you will get better results, and people that’s not afraid to go up towards the challenge of bringing it under control If there is just a few people who are determined to turn out city around and determined to bring this thing under control, guess what, it can come under control. Because I am determined—aint no gang going to get my next child. But I am determined it is not going to happen again. I got more wisdom now than I had this time last year because of the pain I had to suffer and the situations that we had to triumph through, it’s made me a stronger woman, its made me a more determined woman. I had to lose my son behind it, but guess what. My son will live on through me, and I am determined to help make a difference in this city.

This is the song that Lorraine sung at her son’s funeral. Lorraine is also hoping that Mayor Sheila Dixon will make a difference in this city. She applauds the Mayors choice to ask for the resignation of Police Commissioner Leonard Ham, and hopes to see more changes in leadership taking place over the next few months.

Just words is a production of the Center for Emerging Media, produced by Jessica Phillips, through a grant from OSI-Baltimore: investing in solutions to Baltimore’s toughest problems, with audacious thinking for lasting change, on the web at OSI-Baltimore.org.
Visit JUST WORDS on the web at centerforemergingmedia.org, or
email us, at justwords@wypr.org

Music: Explosions in the Sky, Time Stops

 

Copyright © 2008 Center for Emerging Media