Annette John-Hall: After slayings, Grays Ferry speaks out

An ancient Kenyan proverb says: "When you have to choose and decide not to choose, you have already made the wrong choice."

Whoever came up with that bit of wisdom sure wasn't talking about the residents of Grays Ferry.

Not this time.

Because last week, they made the right choice. They chose to stand up for their community. To do the right thing, rather than sit silent.

They chose to honor the memory of Harvey Lewis, 15, a student in the Philadelphia Police Explorer Cadet Program, and his best friend, Dominique Smith, 17, also an aspiring police officer - both ruthlessly gunned down last week.

They chose to tell.

At least 30 witnesses in the South Philadelphia neighborhood came forward - willingly, without appeals or a reward. A 17th Police District task force worked nonstop interviewing them.

Together, their efforts led to the arrest of neighborhood thugs Anthony Satchell, 16, and Derek Barnes, 19, with lightning quickness - only a few days after the executions.

"If you trust us and help, it helps us get these cold-blooded killers off the street," Homicide Capt. James Clark said. "Somebody always knows what's going on, and we need those people to step up."

An extra bonus - albeit bittersweet - is that police got to cuff Satchell, the alleged triggerman, using Lewis' cadet handcuffs.

Witness cooperation doesn't always happen this way. People get scared. Neighbors look away. Potential witnesses renege.

All too often, we're left complaining that no one will step forward - even though most of us can't say for sure that we would speak up if retaliation were staring us in the face.

But while you think looking the other way might save your life, look around. Your neighborhood is dying, being destroyed by nondiscriminating criminals like the ones who killed Lewis and Smith. They'll kill you for nothing.

This time, residents of Grays Ferry did more than place teddy bears at 29th and Morris, where the two teens were shot as they walked from a friend's house April 19.

Even more chilling is the belief that the killers realized that the victims were not the neighborhood enemies they sought - but blew them away anyway.

A cold-blooded chill filled the community in a way that could not, would not, be ignored. Enough was enough.

This killing "outraged so many people," says Wali Smith of Philadelphia Operation Town Watch. "People knew these kids. They were good kids. When you've got good kids getting killed, people say, 'Hey, we've got to do something.' "

Building on the new unity gained from the tragedy, almost a hundred residents, elected officials, and community leaders gathered for a Families Against Violence Community Meeting at Miracle Temple of Christ Church last night to talk about ways to keep their neighborhoods safe.

"The first thing that has to happen is we have to get out of this hall and walk the streets - there are too many people out there who don't know us," said State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams.

He noted that community intervention ended the gang violence in the '70s.

Others asked for more programs for children, urged more aid for parents, and challenged adults to help young people who didn't know how to read or write.

Tara Clark, 44, brought her 10- and 11-year-old sons, hoping that she would get something out of the meeting that would give her some reassurance.

"I don't let my sons play outside," the mother of four said.

And for good reason.

Thirteen years ago, Clark's brother, William Gay, was killed on these same Grays Ferry streets. Shot once in the head, just like Lewis and Smith. He was only 16. And even though her brother's alleged killer was arrested but never charged for lack of sufficient evidence, she still applauds the swift efforts of the police and community.

This week, State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson, who organized the meeting, said, "I see this as a tipping point to doing something different."

He also took the opportunity to issue a warning to those intent on destroying the community.

It's a new day. Law-abiding citizens aren't having it.

"If you want to take on the role of being a terrorist in your own neighborhood, you're going to be dealt with accordingly," Johnson said. "We're not going to be held hostage in our own neighborhoods."