'Speak Up, Speak Now' counters 'Stop Snitching'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Shenita Williams remembers Paris Whitehead Hamilton, the niece she took care of, as the one who kept the family on their toes.

"You always have someone at the house who keeps things going. She's the one who keeps things going," Williams said.

Then, everything stopped. On April 5, 2009, 8-year-old Paris was gunned down by a hail of bullets in a drive-by shooting.

"It was a war," Williams said. "I'll never forget that day."

St. Petersburg Police arrested three men in Paris' shooting, but some wondered if it had to happen at all. No one ever told police about the guns or violence that led to this shooting, perhaps spurred on by a 'Stop Snitching' campaign -- backed by some in the rap community -- that promotes never talking to police.

"Unfortunately, the effects of silence do not change. Only we can change," said Tracey Locke.

Locke is trying to change it. She started 'Speak Up, Speak Now' (originally called 'The Paris Project'), a summer program for middle schoolers in St. Petersburg teaching them the importance of speaking up. It's done as a community outreach project of the Florida Holocaust Museum, where they know well about the need to speak out against atrocities.

"I felt it was very important that we bring the message we have at the museum to the community," Locke said.

On Saturday night, the NAACP honored the group with a community service award during it's Freedom Night banquet in St. Petersburg.

Lisa Wheeler was in attendance at the banquet. Her son, Cabretti, 21, was murdered in 2008 at a St. Petersburg studio. The murder remains unsolved, despite the fact that some of Cabretti's own friends know who killed him, Wheeler said.

"It's very, very infuriating," Wheeler said. "If you loved my son, if you called him brother, why not bring this person to justice, no matter who it was?"

Wheeler talked to middle school students last summer as part of 'Speak Up, Speak Now' at Wildwood Recreation Center.

This summer's program has expanded from 100 to 190 students and starts on Monday at Frank Pierce Recreation Center, Lake Vista Recreation Center and Royal Theater Boys and Girls Club.

It runs through Aug. 6. More information is available at www.speakupspeaknow.org.