By Laura DeKoven Waxman and Ed Somers
March 19, 2012

Conference of Mayors Vice President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter was an active participant in the National League of Cities (NLC) Washington (DC) meeting March 10-12, stressing the shared priorities of the two national organizations.

Led by Bluffton (IN) Mayor Ted Ellis, NLC has made its top priorities protecting the Community Development Block Grant, passing a surface transportation bill, enacting legislation to allow for the collection of online sales taxes, and workforce training and education.

Rounding out the NLC leadership are First Vice President Avondale (AZ) Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers and Second Vice President Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

At a special session to discuss the high incidence of violent deaths among African American males and ways to reduce it, Nutter called for national level attention to this issue and suggested it provides an opportunity for municipal leaders to share in the solution to a common problem occurring in cities across the nation. Entitled Cities United: Building Communities to Reduce Violent Deaths Among Black Men and Boys Convening, the session was held March 10-11 in conjunction with the NLC meeting.

Nutter decried how little attention the deaths of African American males receives, commenting that if it were any other group more would be done about the problem. “This is a serious issue which requires serious attention, and we have to get real,” he commented. “What is the nation’s violence reduction strategy?” he asked.

Joining Nutter at this session were Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson and Selma Mayor George Evans, council members and key staff from several cities, federal officials, experts in the field, foundation executives, and young people.

Much attention was paid to treating violence as a public health issue and employing public health procedures to reduce it. Ceasefire Executive Director Dr. Gary Slutkin commented that violence behaves like any other infectious disease and should be treated in the same way. This, Slutkin explained, involves: 1) identifying and detecting the problem; 2) interrupting, intervening and reducing risk; and 3) changing behavior and norms. Dr. Linda Degutis, Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, described the various activities her agency supports with its $15 million appropriation for youth violence prevention.

Nutter was also invited by NLC to bring greetings to its opening plenary session, and to address a morning breakfast celebrating diversity.

In his plenary remarks, Nutter again stressed the need for a national discussion and federal response to the problem of violent deaths among black youth.

Nutter also quoted New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman, who spoke at the recent Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, and said, “What ails Americans today, fundamentally, is that we’ve lost our ability to act collectively, and all the problems we face require collective action.”

Nutter said, “Maintaining the Community Development Block Grant program will require collective action, especially since it seems to be the victim of a slow death by a thousand cuts.”

He also called on Congress to act collectively to pass a surface transportation bill, and to focus on all issues related to job creation, including prisoner reentry.

Nutter thanked the gathered city leaders for their work on behalf of America’s cities, and pledged to continue the strong partnership between the Conference of Mayors and NLC.