Here’s hoping that the name Kenny Irby becomes not just well-known around here, but synonymous with success. Irby, an African-American pastor and faculty member of the Poynter Institute, has now added a third identity: community intervention director for the city of St. Petersburg.
Arguably, it’s the most important hat he wears, because he’s being charged with being the point man for youth outreach as a means to curb the alarming increase in young people, notably young black people on St. Pete’s south side, who are in danger of winding up in jail or dead. A recent spate of gun violence prompted Mayor Rick Kriseman to create this new position.
If Kirby, who has been called a “leader” and a “motivator” as well as tough and sensitive, is to succeed, it will be due, in large part, to the cooperation and coordination he receives from both the Pinellas School District and the St. Petersburg Police Department. Failing schools and a hike in the juvenile crime rate are hardly coincidental.
And while Kirby hasn’t said so, he could also use the high-profile help–and concomitant pulpit–of the Black Lives Matter movement. If Kirby is to succeed, he needs all available hands on board. Success is ultimately undermined by the cherry-picking-of-lives-tragically-lost agenda.
“This is about the people of a community reclaiming their community,” underscored Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin. “This is about them saying, ‘Not our sons.'”
Kirby deserves the community’s best communal response–from parents to police. And if he is successful, the multi-pronged approach with the right point man could be a model–and inspiration–for other cities with similar demographics and crime statistics.