Death In Newark

In the midst of a crime wave, Newark activists turn to prayer.

Every day this month, activists are meeting on a different Newark street corner at 5 p.m. Each marks the spot of a different murder, and they are trying to drive away the “murderous spirits” they believe have taken hold of their city’s young men.

It wasn’t any particular event that spurred them to action, but their month of prayer is aptly timed. Newark saw a murder every day from August 26 to September 3; this week, five men were gunned down in just 72 hours. The violence was mostly gang-related but has left innocent victims in its wake: among others, a 24-year-old woman struck by stray bullets as she chatted with friends and a 20-year-old pizza deliveryman killed in a robbery gone awry.

“We think all of this violence is a public-health issue,” says Cassandra Dock, who, along with her fellow activist Donna Jackson, is organizing the effort. Dock wants the ills of her community treated holistically. “We request the help of our elected officials, but we also are smart enough and wise enough to know that this is going to take some divine intervention, that spirituality needs to be brought back into our community.”

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