Charlotte construction executive Ron Leeper talks with reporters Tuesday as Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, left, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Deputy Police Chief Harold Medlock, right, look on. (Photo: Qcitymetro.com)
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The hundreds of African American men who walked the streets of uptown Charlotte during July 4 festivities had a ”calming presence,” Mayor Anthony Foxx said Tuesday.

The mayor stopped short of crediting the new group, Men Who Care Global, with the fewer number of arrests that occurred, but he called the men’s participation “a significant turning point for our city.”

“I think there is a recognition that what happened (Monday) night was very successful from the standpoint of community engagement,” Foxx told reporters at a press conference in his Government Center office. “That is something that we have not had a lot of on these large event nights.”

Charlotte construction executive Ron Leeper, who organized the men’s group following a burst of youth violence during the Memorial Day weekend, said more than 300 volunteers were on the uptown streets July 4.

Leeper told one anecdote in which a member of his group gently persuaded a young man to put on a shirt and pull up his pants. The youth then turned to his friends and instructed them to do likewise, Leeper said.

“It was that kind of thing that we got a positive feel from, that young people, given the right kind of relationship and experience, will respond in a positive way,” he said.

A call to action

Leeper had said prior to the July 4 festivities that he wanted 500 to 1,000 black men who could model good behavior for African American youths. But in addition, he said, the group also would provide job and education resources to teens who ventured uptown to socialize and watch fireworks.

Leeper said the group on Monday began signing up teens for an August 6 symposium. As an incentive to sign up, he said, the men offered gift cards, tickets to events and two football jerseys donated by Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith. Leeper said Smith also donated money to help support Men Who Care Global.

“There was a lot of dialog taking place with the young people,” said Leeper, president and owner of R.J. Leeper Construction. “Some of them were asking about jobs, and we were asking them what their status was -- were they in school, their plans.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Deputy Police Chief Harold Medlock, who also attended the press conference, said the police department hopes to work with the group at future uptown events.

Fewer arrests

Police estimate that about 40,000 people came uptown to watch fireworks Monday night and that about 25,000 remained as of 11 p.m. Medlock said police arrested four people and recorded 11 curfew violations. Foxx said he planned to meet privately with the families of those children who were found without adult supervision.

In contrast, 21 people were arrested last July 4. But some of the worst uptown violence occurred last month at the close of the Speed Street festival leading up to Memorial Day, when one youth was shot and killed and another was wounded in what police suspect was gang activity. Seventy people – mainly African American males – were arrested that night.

Overall, Leeper said he was “elated” with how events unfolded Monday night.

‘You are never sure how things are going to turn out,” he told Qcitymetro.com. “I felt a personal responsibility for the men I recruited. You never want to put people in harm’s way, and you know there is always the potential for something happening that is out of your control. But we can’t afford to lose any more kids on the street of Charlotte.”

Long-term commitment

Asked how long he thought his group would be needed, Leeper said the men are committed long term.

“We hope as we go along, as young people begin to see how adults model behavior in large crowds, that maybe in the future – whenever that is – that we will need less of this…because young people will begin to see how they are to behave in large crowds,” he said, “But in the future, we’re going to be out there ’till they get it.”

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