The grassroots movement transforming public safety | Aqeela Sherrills

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Grassroots Movement Transforming Public Safety

Podcast: TED Talks Daily
Episode: The grassroots movement transforming public safety | Aqeela Sherrills
Date: September 16, 2025
Host: TED (Elise Hu)
Speaker: Aqeela Sherrills
Additional Q&A: Helen Walters with Aqeela Sherrills

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Overview

This episode features urban peace activist Aqeela Sherrills sharing his transformative work in public safety, starting from his experience brokering a historic peace treaty between rival Los Angeles gangs in the 1990s to leading national initiatives for community-centered violence intervention. The talk emphasizes the power of grassroots leadership, “credible messengers,” and the need to redefine public safety as a collective, holistic effort grounded in healing and well-being—not just law enforcement or the absence of crime.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The 1992 LA Peace Treaty: Origins of Community Transformation

• Setting the Stage: In 1992, Los Angeles was grappling with an all-time high homicide rate, primarily fueled by the longstanding feud between the Crips and Bloods.
  [03:39] B: "This historic event ended a three decade long urban war that claimed more than 10,000 lives in LA county alone, not including those permanently maimed or incarcerated for life. I was one of those gang members who negotiated that treaty."

• Personal Testimony: Aqeela recounts his own upbringing in the Watts’ Jordan Downs housing projects, attending 20 funerals by age 16 and turning to gang life for protection, illustrating the deep-rooted sense of insecurity and trauma facing young people in these environments.

• Challenging Stereotypes:
  [04:34] B: "Black American gangs aren't inherently violent. Less than 3 to 5% of so-called gang members are actually committing violent crime. More often they're like surrogate families where protecting one another was sometimes the only way we knew how to survive."

2. The Power of Dialogue and “Credible Messengers”

• The peace treaty was achieved through months of high-stakes, honest conversations among those closest to the conflict—and its impact was immediate:
  [05:29] B: "In the first two years of the peace treaty, homicides in Watts declined by 44%. Changing the quality of life in my neighborhood."

• Ripple Effect: Their efforts expanded to 16 cities, contributing to a national decline in youth violence—all originating from those most directly affected by the conflict.

3. Community-Led Public Safety: Newark’s Success Story

• Partnership with Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark (2014): Sherrills describes forming the Newark Community Street Team by hiring ex-gang members and formerly incarcerated individuals as violence interrupters trained in mediation and crisis response.
  [08:22] B: "I hired 16 credible messengers, many of them ex gang members and formerly incarcerated folks who have deep relationships in the neighborhood."

• Holistic Approach: Combines safety patrols (“Safe Passage” program), trauma recovery, mentoring, outreach, and case management, emphasizing the importance of trust and a multifaceted support ecosystem.

• Results:
  [09:52] B: "When we started our work In Newark in 2014, the city had 103 homicides. In 2024, we had 37. Now family. These are not just numbers, they're actual lives saved."
  Newark saw nine years of consecutive crime decline and is no longer ranked among the nation’s most violent cities.

• Law Enforcement as Partners:
  [10:33] B: "Local law enforcement credits us as the essential strategic partner in reducing violence in the city."

4. Challenges & Underfunding: Stories from the Field

• Many community leaders and organizations—especially those led by survivors and returning citizens—struggle for recognition and sustainable funding for their preventive work, often being ineligible for public funds despite delivering critical and effective safety services.

  • Example: Brenda Glass in Cleveland had to cash in her retirement to run a trauma center, waiting five years for funding.
  • Example: Lyle Muhammad in Miami employs credible messengers but cannot reliably fund their wages and training.

5. Scaling the Model Nationally: "Scaling Safety"

• Sherrills announces the Scaling Safety initiative (with TED’s Audacious Project support), aimed at embedding community-led safety programs into city infrastructure across the US.

• National Collaboration: Teaming with the Alliance for Safety and Justice, having already supported 150 organizations in over 60 cities and unlocking $3 billion in funding for reform and community safety.

  [12:32] B: "Our solution is simple. Redefine public safety by investing in a coordinated set of high impact resident led programs that create real lasting changes."

• Comparison to Public Health: Just as public health expanded beyond hospitals to preventive community health workers, public safety must also broaden to include resident-led intervention, healing, and support.

6. Aqeela’s Personal Tragedy and Resilience

• In 2003, Aqeela’s son Terrell, a college-bound student and inspiration for his peace work, was murdered in a case of mistaken gang identity.
  [13:14] B: "Family, I'm no novice to violence. I've witnessed it my entire life. But nothing prepares you for the loss of your child. But what I've come to understand is that peace is a journey and not a destination."

• This loss reaffirms his commitment:
  [13:47] B: "Public safety is not just the absence of violence and crime, but the presence of well being and the infrastructure to support victims and survivors in their healing journey."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the role of community:
  [07:36] B: "Peace was possible because nobody could stop that war but us, those of us at the center of the conflict."

• On actionable hope (Q&A):
  [14:31] B:
  "Where the wounds are in the personal life is where the gift lie. Sometimes we have to sit long and hard in the anguish and the pain of the things that we suffered and keep our eye on the prize... The thing that I would encourage folks to do is to find someone that you know or don't know... expose the deep secrets in your personal life as a way of accessing the gift of who you are. ...For those who are listeners... hold space for them. Behold them. Don't define them as their experience because we're not the things we've perpetrated or the things that have been done to us."

• Defining public safety:
  [13:47] B: "Public safety is not just the absence of violence and crime, but the presence of well being and the infrastructure to support victims and survivors in their healing journey."

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Important Timestamps

• [03:39] – Aqeela Sherrills starts recounting the 1992 LA Peace Treaty and his background.
• [05:29] – Early results: 44% drop in homicides in Watts.
• [07:36] – The importance of those “at the center of the conflict” negotiating peace.
• [08:22] – Launching Newark Community Street Team with credible messengers.
• [09:52] – Newark’s homicide rate drops from 103 (2014) to 37 (2024).
• [10:33] – Law enforcement collaborates with community organizations.
• [12:32] – Announcement of the Scaling Safety initiative.
• [13:14] – The loss of Aqeela’s son Terrell and its impact.
• [14:31] – Q&A: Helen Walters asks about actionable hope; thoughtful, emotional response.
• [15:27] – Closing gratitude and affirmation.

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Episode Tone & Final Thoughts

Aqeela Sherrills speaks with quiet power, vulnerability, and hard-earned hope, urging listeners to see both the humanity in those labeled as “offenders” and the necessity of community-driven healing and intervention. The episode highlights actionable models for reimagining safety—where collective effort, systemic investment, and personal resilience come together to break cycles of violence and foster lasting peace.

For more information: Visit TED’s Audacious Project and the Community Based Public Safety Collective.
Listeners are invited to support and spread these approaches in their own cities.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

In 1992, the Lear that the Los Angeles homicide rate reached an all time high. Members of the Crips and Bloods, two of the largest gangs in the US sat down together and brokered a peace treaty. This historic event ended a three decade long urban war that claimed more than 10,000 lives in LA county alone, not including those permanently maimed or incarcerated for life. I was one of those gang members who negotiated that treaty. Thank you. Growing up in the Jordan down housing projects in the Watt section of Los Angeles, I witnessed things no child should ever be subject to. By the time I was 16, I had attended 20 funerals of friends. And like so many youth surrounded by violence and poverty, I was desensitized and angry. And joining the neighborhood gang was my solution for safety and protection. Now it's important to understand that black American gangs aren't inherently violent. Less than 3 to 5% of so called gang members are actually committing violent crime. More often they're like surrogate families where protecting one another was sometimes the only way we knew how to survive. In the first two years of the peace treaty, homicides in Watts declined by 44%. Changing the quality of life in my neighborhood. I was just 23 years old and my firstborn son Terrell had just turned seven. Driven by the belief that our children would not inherit our conflicts, we took the call to peace to 16 more cities contributing to a national decline in youth violence. You see, peace was possible because nobody could stop that war but us, those of us at the center of the conflict. It took months of intense high stake conversations, starting with a handful of brothers from the four housing projects. During the negotiation, I asked who was winning the war that we were waging against each other every time we die or go to prison. No one was there to provide direction and guidance for our kids. You see, violence is about proximity. I had known most of My so called enemies. My entire life. From school and from the neighborhood, a small group of us went into so called enemy territory. The news of the peace treaty spread like wildfires. Hundreds of youth from formerly warring gangs attended celebrations in the projects to mark the new beginning. The peace treaty inspired similar agreements across the country and lasted for 12 years. Fast forward into today. The cycle of violence remains an extremely concentrated problem with unequal impacts. Residents in low income urban communities of color are 15 times more likely to be harmed by violence, but yet three times less likely to get help. And for Black males ages 14 to 25, violence is the number one cause of death. As this crisis has worsened in cities, overwhelmed police departments are joining forces with community leaders to say that arrests alone will not end the cycle of violence. Many solutions are being proposed, but what we're proposing is an internal solution. A solution led by those most impacted by violence. A solution that lifts up non traditional leaders to play a key role in creating safety in their own respective communities. You see investing in non traditional leaders as a complement to policing works. In 2014, I got a call from my friend Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Mayor Baraka asked me to help him to strengthen his community violence intervention strategy. Now, Newark had been on the top 10 most violent city list for almost 50 consecutive years. With a modest investment from local philanthropies, I launched a Newark community street team. I hired 16 credible messengers, many of them ex gang members and formerly incarcerated folks who have deep relationships in the neighborhood. We trained them in conflict resolution and mediation strategies and deployed them in high violence areas and asked them to use their relationship capital to to intervene and mediate gang disputes that could lead to violence. Now you know, law enforcement investigations are crucial, but not always successful and often painstakingly slow. Whereas the credible messengers can prevent the next shooting in real time. We launched a safe passage program to ensure our kids went to school safely, because violence often happens before and after school. We launched the city's first trauma recovery center to provide therapeutic services to victims to help them heal. We also provided mentoring and outreach and case management. You see, safety isn't just one intervention. It's a shared strategy and requires an ecosystem of programs that residents trust. When we started our work In Newark in 2014, the city had 103 homicides. In 2024, we had 37. Now family. These are not just numbers, they're actual lives saved. Newark now has nine consecutive years of decline and we're no longer on the top 10 most violent city list. Now what we achieved In Newark is more than historic lows and violence. Local law enforcement credits us as the essential strategic partner in reducing violence in the city. And today the Newark street team has over 80 staff, is a formal partner with the city and received millions of dollars in public funding. Now, family. We're not just the only ones that's improving safety in our cities. It's just rarely recognized and supported. Take my good friend, Ms. Brenda Glass. A survivor of violence from Cleveland, Ohio. Brenda started Cleveland's first trauma recovery center, but had to cash in her retirement fund just to keep her doors open. And despite being the city's only 24 hour assistant for victims, it took the city five years before they granted her money. Another champion is my brother Lyle Muhammad from Miami, who employs credible messengers in some of the most violent neighborhoods, but struggles to provide a livable wage and ongoing training for his staff. These often overlooked groups are most of the time ineligible for public funding. But what they do have is deep commitment, lived experience, trust and community support. Now, other cities are primed to replicate the successes that we had in Newark and following the steps of leaders like Brenda and Lau. But very few essential community organizations have the know how to become a permanent part of the city's public safety workforce. Family. We're about to change all of that. With a generous investment from the audacious TED community and support from people just like you, we're launching Scaling Safety, an initiative to put the public back in public safety. Our solution is simple. Redefine public safety by investing in a coordinated set of high impact resident led programs that create real lasting changes. In 2021, I launched a community based public safety collective to spread the Newark Community Street Team strategy nationwide. We've already helped 150 organizations in 60 plus cities. Now we're teaming up with the alliance for Safety and justice, the nation's leader in public safety advocacy. ASJ has unlocked $3 billion in funding and led 150 policy reforms to support community safety programs. Together, we're creating a stronger, more effective approach to safety. One that complements law enforcement and breaks the cycle of harm. Now, addressing violence is extremely complex. But just as we no longer rely on hospitals and emergency rooms alone to improve public health, we cannot rely on the justice system alone to create safety in public health. Community health workers emerged to improve preventative health care. By training residents in outreach and peer support. They've reduced the burdens on emergency rooms and improved public health. We believe the same can be done with public safety because racially equitable access to safety begins with community engagement. Now, in 2003, my oldest son, Terrell, that was seven years old when I negotiated the treaty, graduated from high school and was accepted into Humboldt State University. The proudest day of my life. Family was driving this kid to school to start his first day as a college student. Terrell was an inspiration to his younger siblings and the reason why I became a lifelong advocate for peace. He came home from winter break. He went to a party with some of his friends in an affluent neighborhood in la. There, some kids from a local gang showed up at the party, mistook his red Mickey Mouse sweater for gang colors and shot him to death. Family, I'm no novice to violence. I've witnessed it my entire life. But nothing prepares you for the loss of your child. But what I've come to understand is that peace is a journey and not a destination. And that public safety is not just the absence of violence and crime, but the presence of well being and the infrastructure to support victims and survivors in their healing journey. Scaly's safety is our healing journey and my continued commitment to Terrell and Oscar Gizar and Ronzell Pointer and the thousands like them that their deaths were not in vain. Thank you.

[C]

Akilah. Another hug if you will. Okay, come right here. I have a question. Thank you for sharing your story. I speak on behalf of everybody when I say that we're so sorry for your loss.

[B]

Thank you.

[C]

We talked a lot this week about actionable hope. What you're doing exemplifies a spirit that too many of us have no idea what you've experienced and what you do on a daily basis. What advice do you give those who are trying to dig deep in this time to step up and to find actionable hope? How do you do it?

[B]

Yes, I would say that where the wounds are in the personal life is where the gift lie. Sometimes we have to sit long and hard in the anguish and the pain of the things that we suffered and keep our eye on the prize, you know, continue to look for the gift despite, you know, the circumstances around you. You know, the thing that I would encourage folks to do is to find someone that you know or don't know. Sometimes it's easy to talk to people that you don't know and expose the deep secrets in your personal life, you know, as a way of accessing the gift of who you are. Because when you undress yourself, others can't undress you. Right? And I would say for those who are the folks, who are the listeners, because, you know, people always, you know, come to us and they tell us their her hold space for them. Behold them. Don't define them as their experience because we're not the things that we've perpetrated or the things that have been done to us. Those things are only informing who we become. They don't define who we are.

[C]

Akilah, you're an inspiration. Thank you, thank you.

[A]

That was Akilah Cherelle speaking at TED 2025. This ambitious idea is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change. Learn more at Audacious. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This talk was fact checked by the TED Research team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little and Tansika Songmanivong. This episode was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Balarazo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

[D]

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