New DA to Tackle “Black Genocide”

Nutter calls for Williams to focus on violent crime

In Monday's inaugeration ceremonies, Mayor Michael Nutter said now that Philadelphia has a black mayor, police commissioner and district attorney, they must stop the “black genocide.”

Nutter called it  “a day of generational change,” with newly sworn-in District Attorney Seth Williams being the first African American DA in the history of both Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With Williams' new role comes much responsibility. Nutter called on the new DA to put all of his focus on violent crime.

“And so now…three African American men must come to grips with what I have referred to in the past as black genocide,” said Mayor Nutter. “We cannot do it by ourselves.”

A total of 732 black men have been murdered in Philadelphia in the past three years, Nutter said. There were 285 black men killed in 2007; 239 killed in 2008; and 208 killed in 2009, he said.

“Quite frankly, I don’t know if there is an African American way to dispense justice, or a Hispanic way or an Asian American way or a Caucasian way, but what I do know is that there must be a new way,” Nutter said.

In a conversation with NBC Philadelphia, Williams also spoke of the high crime rate, saying that homicide is the leading cause of death for African American men ages 15 to 44. And yet, only five percent of the city’s criminals commit the most violent crimes, Williams said.

“We have to stop playing catch up and start catching them,” Williams said to NBC Philadelphia. “Not just for black men or brown men but all of Philadelphia.”

Nutter finished his address with a short poem:

“Today is a new day and we’ve elected a new DA. Let’s get to work in a new way,” said Nutter
 

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