Philadelphia mayor chides black parents over teen mobs

Philadelphia teens breaking curfew are losing a lot more than their car keys.


Dozens of teenagers were arrested in the City of Brotherly Love this weekend for violating a new curfew policy aimed at keeping bands of marauding thugs off the streets.


Mayor Michael Nutter earlier this week called for kids younger than 18 to be off the streets by 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays in response to a recent string of violent attacks by teenage mobs.


Some 50 teens in the neighborhoods of Center City and Universal City were rounded up on Friday, police said. On Saturday, 12 teens were arrested.


"We're going to take this very seriously," police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We're setting a tone, and that's important."


Philly teens sought to test the new rules by staying out on the streets past the cutoff on the first night of the policy.


"They shouldn't be able to violate my rights," Ryan Stanton, 16, told the paper, as he hung out with friends on South Street shortly before 9 p.m. on Friday.


"If the cops ask me, I'm going to explain why I have the right to assemble peacefully."


Fifteen minutes later, Stanton was in a police van, headed to a station house so his parents could pick him up, the Inquirer said.


First offenders can be fined between $100 and $300, and parents can be fined up to $500 if their kids violate the rule repeatedly.


In other parts of the city, children under 13 must be off the streets by 10 p.m., and those under 18 must be home by midnight.


Swarms of teens have been using Facebook and Twitter to coordinate violent sprees across downtown Philadelphia for months.


In one rampage last month, a man ended up in the hospital with broken teeth and a shattered jaw after a group of teens jumped him. Hours later, a crowd of young people, including an 11-year-old boy, attacked four men.


In another incident, a woman was punched in the face and broke her leg.


Nutter blamed the violence on a small number of "complete knuckleheads."


Nutter's words also harkened back to a 2008 Father's Day speech by then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"If we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing — missing from too many lives and too many homes," Obama told a church in Chicago. "They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men."
Now, it's Nutter taking up the mantra.
Some feel his message was needed. Others say he's airing private community matters now that crime is sprouting downtown, near businesses and popular tourist attractions in a sprawling city with many other sections already plagued by persistent gun violence.
Bill Anderson, a talk show host on the black radio station WURD-AM, estimated that about 60 percent of callers commenting on Nutter's address supported him. But quite a few, Anderson said, believe Nutter simply doesn't have the community standing to make such strong remarks.
"The perception is that he is not necessarily a 'community guy. ... He has been perceived as more of a business guy," Anderson said, noting that he didn't have a problem with the comments himself.
Anderson cited concerns among the black community, such as Nutter's perceived focus on the city's downtown over other neighborhoods, a newly enforced curfew for teens and Nutter's endorsement of "stop-and-frisk" searches, a tactic police credit with reducing crime but that some feel unfairly targets minorities.
Annette John-Hall, a black columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote this week that the mayor crossed a line when he said, "You've damaged your own race."
"We can deal with the public tongue-lashing, even if his intended targets were nowhere to be found among the law-abiding churchgoers in their Sunday best," John-Hall wrote. She went on to say, "But what really bothered me was when Nutter fired the age-old salvo that has historically evoked head-hanging shame among black folks."
Nutter said things that needed to be said, according to J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP.
"It's like Cosby did. It's like the president did when he was running for office," Mondesire said. "Something is wrong in many African-American homes, and we've got to come to grips with it."
Some have questioned Nutter's support among blacks at the polls, where he has fared better in white wards. Black politicians have taken shots as well.
At a mayoral debate in 2007, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who is black, challenged his fellow candidate Nutter on the issue of race, suggesting Nutter has to "remind himself he's an African-American." Last year, former Mayor John F. Street, Nutter's predecessor and longtime political adversary, told a newspaper that Nutter was "not a black mayor ... just a mayor with dark skin." Nutter called Street's remarks "ignorant."
Race has again risen to the foreground for Nutter in the wake of the mob assaults.
In one attack last month, a man ended up in the hospital with broken teeth and a wired jaw after a group of teenagers attacked him downtown. Hours later, a crowd of young people assaulted four other men. The city plans to increase legal sanctions for parents whose children participate in the attacks. Nutter has also said strict enforcement of a curfew will continue and more programs at youth centers will be offered.
For his part, the mayor said he felt he had no choice but to go to the pulpit Sunday, regardless of the reaction.
"This is about personal responsibility. "We have to be very straightforward."
Philadelphia's first black district attorney, Seth Williams, also lauded the mayor for using his position as one of the city's most visible leaders to confront a public problem.

Philadelphia mayor talks tough to black teenagers after ‘flash mobs’

Philadelphia has been plagued by teen violence, but the City of Brotherly Love is fighting back.

Mayor Michael Nutter announced this week a robust initiative that began with a stiff curfew at 9 p.m. Friday.

The effort comes after a string of attacks on residents by groups of young people who are alerted to sudden gatherings at a given place via e-mail and social media.

"It's a growing problem in this country, police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey told CNN Friday.

Nutter delivered tough remarks about the problem in a church sermon Sunday that has received national and international attention, a blunt no-excuses scolding that happened to coincide with the start of the England riots.

An African-American, Nutter noted that those involved in the Philadelphia attacks are predominantly black and said their behavior damaged themselves and damaged their race.

He upheld religious values, underscored the importance of parental discipline and lambasted absentee parents, particularly fathers, for neglecting and not keeping watch over their children.

He said fathering is engaging with the child and shaping them. He described a neglectful dad as a "human ATM" or a "sperm donor."

Accordingly, his measures target both the young attackers and their parents or legal guardians.

Nutter signed an order temporarily moving the curfew to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays for everyone under the age of 18 in targeted enforcement districts.

They are in Center City, the downtown area, and University City, the West Philadelphia neighborhood where the University of Pennsylvania is located. Throughout the rest of the city, the curfew will remain 10 p.m. for those under the age of 13 and those for minors under the age of 18.

"Minors who are caught breaking curfew will be sent home, brought home or transported to a police station where their parents will be contacted. Minors may be issued a citation with a $100 to $300 fine for a first offense," the city said in a press release.

Parents will receive a first-violation notice and then will be fined up to $500 for successive violations.

"These notices and citations will be issued when the parent comes to collect their child from the police station."

If parents don't come for their child "within a reasonable time, police will contact the Department of Human Services to start an investigation.

Mr. Nutter announced that he was beefing up police patrols in certain neighborhoods, enlisting volunteers to monitor the streets and moving up the weekend curfew for minors to 9 p.m.

Parents will face increased fines for each time their child is caught violating the curfew.

The head of Philadelphia’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, J. Whyatt Mondesire, said it “took courage” for Mr. Nutter to deliver the message.

“These are majority African-American youths and they need to be called on it,” Mr. Mondesire said.

Mary Catherine Roper, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said her group sees the curfew move as legal with its sole caveat being that it not evolve “into an excuse to hassle” any youths on the street.

The state ACLU filed a federal lawsuit last year challenging Philadelphia police’s use of “stop and frisk” searches. A settlement announced in June allowed the program to continue, along with safeguards to prevent the use of racial profiling.

In the past two years, the City of Brotherly Love has been the scene of several flash mobs in which youths meet at planned locations by texting one another and then commit assorted mayhem.

In one episode, teens knocked down passers-by on a Center City street and entered an upscale department store where they assaulted shoppers. On another occasion, hundreds of teens gathered in a restaurant district and menaced patrons, forcing some restaurant owners to lock customers inside temporarily for their own protection or to close early.

In the latest event July 29, about 20 to 30 youths descended on Center City after dark, then punched, beat and robbed bystanders. One man was kicked so savagely that he was hospitalized with a fractured skull. Police arrested four people, including an 11-year-old.

Other cities have grappled with the problem of destructive flash mobs. In Chicago on Memorial Day weekend, roving teens flashed gang signs, knocked cyclists off their bikes and harassed picnickers. Police closed a popular beach as the violence escalated.

In January, dozens of young people stormed a popular Milwaukee mall late in the afternoon and scared customers and store employees.

Philadelphia: Tackle the reasons for flash mobs

Kansas City officials aren’t sure what more they can do to control large crowds of underage teens congregating at night around the city, especially on the Country Club Plaza.

So they’re keeping an eye on an experiment in Philadelphia, which this week began enforcing a 9 p.m. curfew to counter the violence and rude behavior of teenagers congregating in that city’s central business district.

While not specifically asking for a similar policy here, an attorney for Plaza owner Highwoods Properties said Friday that his client would support an earlier curfew in the shopping and entertainment district.

“It’s been one of the items that’s been discussed,” said Spencer Thomson of Husch Blackwell LLP. But Highwoods is open to any strategy that would improve the situation, he said.

“We want a solution to the problem.”

What effect the early curfew might have in Philadelphia is anyone’s guess. But because Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia is looked upon as an innovator by other big-city mayors, Mayor Sly James is eager to learn if any lessons might apply here.

“Is it needed? Is it appropriate? Would it work? Those are the questions we’d be asking,” said Danny Rotert, James’ spokesman.

It would take council action to change the current curfew, which is midnight on weekends and 11 p.m. the rest of the week.

Some have suggested that James has the authority to issue an emergency curfew. The intent of that provision, however, is for it to be a tool used to respond to natural disasters or riots of the type Kansas City experienced in the 1960s, not kids congregating on sidewalks, Rotert said.

James plans to be on the Plaza tonight around 8:30 along with former councilman Alvin Brooks and a group of inner-city ministers to assess the situation.

Ever since the summer of 2003, when Bill Wasik, a senior editor of Wired magazine, who happens to be white, first introduced the notion of a flash mob at Macy's department store in New York, young people have used Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, MySpace, and other media to demonstrate in commercial and public spaces that they have power, too.

What are the young people inGreat Britain, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and, yes, Philadelphia, saying that we are not hearing? Young people don't just magically appear en masse. What pain are they experiencing that we cannot see or feel?

"A riot is the language of the unheard," said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hence, when we see young people rioting or in flash mobs, it is because they feel powerless and want to be heard. Those with a clear sense of hope and a bright future don't cause havoc simply because they have nothing better to do.

When all black children are lumped together with a few bad actors, the powers-that-be, especially the police, don't distinguish between them. Consequently, all black children are endangered and the potential is increased for stirring up the not-so-hidden racism in the City of Brotherly Love.

The violence that has ailed the black community for decades is symptomatic of the ills blacks contend with economically, educationally, politically, and socially. Some in the black community are victims of "terror" on a daily basis.

But, as it is with any other problem, as long as violence stays in the black community, the media, politicians, and authorities can ignore the systemic issues and treat us all alike. However, the moment the problem spreads into Center City, or is no longer contained within our communities, there is outrage.

This is not only problematic, but sickening. When we value the lives of those who live in Center City more than those who live in North, South, or West Philadelphia, we are sending a message that the lives of those who have been "kissed by nature's sun" don't matter. The issues plaguing our youths should have been addressed some time ago, and should be addressed by all of us.

Frederick Douglass warned that "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

We can no longer ignore the cries of our children. They need more than tough talk, a few recreation centers, and inevitable profiling by the police. They need involved, loving parents, quality education, jobs, and mentors. They need community-focused churches, mosques, and synagogues. They need us. Only then will the flash mobs disperse.

As always, keep the faith, and let's stop talking, start listening, and begin solving the urban challenges of our great city.

Police Arrest Dozens After Teen Curfew in Philadelphia Takes Effect

Not long after the Philadelphia clock tower chimed to mark the 9 p.m. hour Friday, police picked up almost two dozen teens during enforcement of the city's new curfew.
"We took 22 into custody by 10 p.m. along South Street" in downtown Philadelphia, police spokesman Ray Evers said.
He said the juveniles ranged in age from 14 to 17.
The teens are among the first charged with violating a newly strengthened city ordinance, which forbids anyone under 18 from being out on the street after 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in two parts of the city -- including downtown.
The City of Brotherly Love is cracking down after a rash of teen violence.


Mayor Michael Nutter announced the earlier curfew following a string of mob attacks by young people alerted to gatherings via email and social media.
"It's a growing problem in this country," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said Friday.
Nutter delivered tough remarks in a church sermon last weekend that has received international attention -- a blunt, no-excuses scolding that coincided with the start of the England riots.
An African-American, Nutter noted that those involved in the Philadelphia attacks are predominantly black and said their behavior damaged themselves and their race.
He upheld religious values, underscored the importance of parental discipline and lambasted absentee parents, particularly fathers, for neglecting and not keeping watch over their children.
Nutter's measures target both young attackers and their parents or legal guardians.
He signed an order temporarily moving the curfew to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for everyone under the age of 18 in targeted enforcement districts -- Center City, in the downtown area, and University City, the west Philadelphia neighborhood where the University of Pennsylvania is located.
Throughout the rest of the city, the curfew will remain 10 p.m. for those under the age of 13 and midnight for minors between ages 13 and 18.


Another 15 were being transported to the same station and 20 were being taken to the 3rd District.
In West Philadelphia's 18th District, police said there had been no arrests.
"Minors who are caught breaking curfew will be sent home, brought home or transported to a police station where their parents will be contacted," the city said in a press release. "Minors may be issued a citation with a $100 to $300 fine for a first offense."
The curfew applies to Center City and University City.
Nutter says parents of teens who participate in the attacks will face legal sanctions. The mayor adds that programs at youth centers and help for parents will be offered as curfew enforcement continues, MyFoxPhilly.com reports.
Despite the new efforts to contain the mob violence, only four of the 11 attacks since 2008.