Rep. Frederica Wilson's 5,000 Role Models of Excellence hosts Miami-Dade youth conference
MIAMI -- U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson said she has a plan to help disrupt the trajectory of some young Black men.
Part of that plan included hosting a youth conference Tuesday that brought participants in her 5,000 Role Models of Excellence project and community leaders together.
"Our young boys will be the benefactors of how to stay safe and what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to comport themselves and be good citizens," said Wilson, the federal lawmaker who founded the program. "We are trying to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline."
The young men and the officers took part in more than just conversations during the event.
There were role-playing exercises, workshops and breakout sessions. Another youth conference is planned with young men who live in the southern part of the county involving even more law enforcement officers.
Delma Noel Pratt, chief of the Miami Gardens Police Department, met with the participants and had a positive message during the event Tuesday.
"We want you to know that it's not OK for you all to be afraid of us," she said. "We're here to bridge the gap, We're here to allow you to know you are loved, that we are invested in you and we are vested in your options."
Joshua Thompson, a senior student at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High, said, "The relationship that we have needs to be improved."
Jarvis Jones, also a senior at Miami Central Senior High, makes another point.
"I know the police main thing is communication so if you don't communicate, they're not going to do anything for you," he said. "But if you do communicate it makes their job easier."
The event on Tuesday occurred following the release last week of a study by the University of Miami and Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy and Trust that found that young Black boys in Miami-Dade account for 52-percent of arrests despite making up only 9 percent of the population.
Pratt said there's room for improvement in police relationships with the community.
"We've made some mistakes along the way, but it's time for us to change those mistakes into positive affirmations into positive things and positive actions," she said.
