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Listening was the theme of the day on June 15 at the Allendale County Courthouse, where young men and adults from throughout Allendale gathered to discuss community issues.
A generational disconnect within the Allendale community has been a barrier for moving the community forward, community leaders have told The People-Sentinel. At the 50 Men, 50 Boys event, older men from Allendale spent time listening to the lived experiences of the boys and young men in Allendale.
“We hear what we think should be happening in Allendale from adults all the time,” said Fairfax Town Council member Phyllis Smart, who organized the event. “We want crime to go down, we want better schools, we want better parks. But today is your turn.”
The attendees, which included several dozen young and adult men from throughout Allendale, were broken into three groups where they discussed different aspects of life in Allendale: education, neighborhoods, and law enforcement.
Following the shootings of 14-year-old Allendale-Fairfax High School student Markayla Roberts and an 11-year-old girl in April, wider community discussions have been taking place about the root causes of violence in Allendale; On June 5, the family of Roberts and community leaders rallied at the South Carolina statehouse in Columbia and spoke with Representative Lonnie Hosey (District 91) about how to make Allendale County a safer place to live.
Allendale resident Nate Hartley, who listened to several young men speak about violence in different neighborhoods in Allendale, said the discussion was able to deepen empathy for victims of gun violence.
“When we initially asked them how they feel about it, they said they didn’t care,” Hartley said. “When I circled back around and asked that question a second time after they had some time to think about it, they felt like they could feel for what people are going through.”
As previously reported by The People-Sentinel, many of the proposed ideas to address gun violence face roadblocks in implementation. Both young people within Allendale and adults support increasing recreational opportunities in the community, however, high costs and municipal mismanagement have prevented projects like community centers from getting completed.
Allendale Town Council member Marlon Creech, who frequently organizes with young men in the community, led a conversation on how young men in Allendale should seek guidance from older men in the community.
“I love you, I care about you, I want to be here for you,” said Creech to the young men in the crowd. “We all gotta start somewhere. At one point we were also young men trying.”
Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
