THE HUNGER STRIKE HAS ENDED
But The Commitment Continues
The question is no longer will the
senseless murders ever stop in Miami-
Dade County, the question now is, can
it stop? Are we at the point of no re-
turn? We have watched over the years
as mothers have cried out in unimagi-
nable pain. We have watched as chil-
dren have lost parents and siblings to
the barrel of a gun. Are we the poster
child for man’s inhumanity to man?
flame for others to follow.” Most re-
cently the Circle of Brotherhood ignit-
ed a tremendous flame as they demon-
strated by literally starving themselves,
for an end to the violence. This sym-
bolic, yet powerful move showed men
taking responsibility by taking a stand.
It is hard to see women shattered and
broken by the loss of their children. It
is hard to look in the faces of children
who have loss their parents…so we
The violence is not limited to one com- look the other way and pray for them,
munity or one municipality. It spreads while praying that it doesn’t happen to
from one end of the county to the oth- us or our loved ones.
er. It feels like the old science fiction
movie where The Blob grows bigger The men who sacrificed not only food
and bigger, smothering everything and but also family, jobs and their daily
everyone in its path. You can run but freedom include men from all walks of
you cannot hide. And like The Blob it life. The nine men in Operation Hun-
is hideous and scary and all consum- ger Strike, who became known as The
ing. Is this what we have gifted to our Hunger Nine includes: Leroy Jones,
children?
a highly regarded community advo-
cate; noted comedian, George Dana
There is an African Proverb that says Jackson; national boxing champion,
“In times of darkness, one must stop Melvin El; Ed Haynes who has the dis-
searching for the light and become the tinction of being the first Black per-
son hired by the Miami Shores Police
Department; Albert Campbell who is
committed to making a difference in
his community after spending 35 years
incarcerated; local minister Anthony
E. Burden who overcame drug addic-
tion and a violent past; community
organizer Brother Phillip Muhammad
Tavernier; MacArthur Richard owner
of a demolition and hauling company,
and the dynamic Anthony Blackman
who provided additional inspiration
by releasing a powerful original song
on the day the strike began. Although
MacArthur Richard is diabetic and
was encouraged not to participate, his
commitment along with the others,
outweighed the concerns. However,
health care matters for all were ad-
dressed with daily medical checks and
the ongoing monitoring of their vital
signs.
During the 21 days of Operation Hun-
ger Strike the men were visited by peo-
ple from all walks of life. The young,