A Herald-Sun editorial this morning has it right:
Durham city and county recently joined to spend $60,000 to have a study on Durham gangs conducted. While we don’t hold out hope for any major revelations, we hope the study will provide some useful data about the extent of gangs in Durham, and will help us qualify for further funding.
But we don’t need a study to tell us whether gangs in Durham are a problem. That, we know already.
The powers that be in Durham ignored the growing gang problem for years because it would have meant admitting that there was a problem in the black community. It wouldn’t do to upset Lavonia Allison by arresting lots of black kids, now would it? Now the chickens have come home to roost.
