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

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.

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."

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."

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.

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.