NEW YORK—On a street corner in Harlem at midnight Sunday, instead of relaxing and preparing for a leisurely Labor Day, a dozen community members gathered to discuss solutions to violence in the area, including gun violence.
Called Occupy the Corners, groups like these have gathered on street corners for the last three weekends around the city to promote peaceful solutions to violence. Next weekend, the last of this month of action, they will discuss what comes next.
“We’re creating a presence in our community, and we’re here to speak with people directly,” said Talib Hudson, a graduate student studying Urban Policy at the New School. “I refuse to be afraid of my brothers and sisters out here in our neighborhood. I cannot be part of the solution if I’m scared to talk to people.”
The group gathered at the corner of 129th Street and Seventh Avenue, across the street from two police officers. They floated out greetings to passersby, some of whom stopped, curious.
