Faith to Fight Gang ViolenceTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 851, Segment 4
Jul 9, 2018 • 19m
Guest: Rev. Eugene F. Rivers, III, Co-Founder, Boston TenPoint Coalition
It’s been called the Boston Miracle. Back in the early 1990s, murders in Boston hit an all-time high. Most of the killings were a result of drugs and gang-related violence. When gang members attacked mourners inside the church where a funeral was being held for a young homicide victim, the Boston’s religious leaders took a stand. They formed the TenPoint Coalition to tackle the violence head on. And it worked – from a high of more than 150 murders in 1990, killings dropped to 31 by 1999.