Podcast Summary: When It Clicked – “A Better Way to Make Communities Safer with Aqeela Sherrills”

Podcast: When It Clicked (Lemonada Media)
Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Ana Zamora
Guest: Aqeela Sherrills (Co-founder, Community Based Public Safety Collective)

Episode Overview

This episode of When It Clicked explores a transformative approach to public safety with Aqeela Sherrills, a pioneering leader in community violence intervention. Rather than relying solely on punishment and policing, Sherrills’ work centers on healing, prevention, accountability, and empowering communities most impacted by violence to be the architects of their own safety. The conversation traces his personal journey—from his upbringing in Watts through historic peace-building among LA gangs, to his national work reducing violence in cities like Newark—and unpacks actionable strategies for reimagining the justice system.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Aqeela’s Foundations: Justice Shaped by Early Life

• Upbringing and Early Lessons (03:14–05:03)

  • Grew up in the Nation of Islam, with parents as activist organizers.
  • Learned self-determination, defense, and community pride:
    “Everything was about, you know, do for self and do for black and that we could accomplish whatever we put our minds to.” (03:30, Aqeela)
  • After the Nation of Islam dissolved, moved to Watts housing projects: direct exposure to systemic oppression, poverty, violence, and racism; experienced police brutality and was labeled by the system.

• Navigating Teen Years and Gang Culture (05:09–06:23)

  • Watts’ gang dynamics tied to geography; school was at the crossroads.
  • Close friend’s murder at age 13 marked him deeply ("I dedicate a part of my TED Talk to my brother...to ensure my brother’s death wasn’t in vain” (05:41, Aqeela)).
  • Gangs as a double-edge: sources of trauma but also surrogate family.

Deconstructing Gang Stereotypes: Surrogate Families, Trauma, and Media Narratives

• Gangs as Surrogate Families (06:40–08:24)

  • Root causes: poverty and trauma ("we lost our nuclear family to the real killer, which is poverty and trauma" (06:45, Aqeela)).
  • Official labeling as “gangs” dehumanizes youth, missing the reality of informal support systems amidst neglect and state abandonment.
  • Notable moment: Distinction between how media frames shootings ("If the media said there were three 14-year-old boys who were shot, we would have gotten a different type of response" (08:04, Aqeela)).

• Endemic Violence and Personal Impact (08:24–10:45)

  • Experienced 20 funerals by age 16; normalized trauma and constant threat shaped perceptions of safety and the future.

• Personal Healing and Empowerment Through Education (09:40–11:50)

  • Acknowledgment of surviving childhood sexual abuse ("me exposing that secret...was my invitation and like an initiation into being able to question the violence that I saw happening around me" (09:44, Aqeela)).
  • Mentorship in college provided new language and framework for empowerment (introduced to Malcolm X, James Baldwin, etc.).

Transformative Action: From Personal Healing to Collective Healing

• Organizing for Healing and Peace (11:50–14:08)
  • Channeled pain into activism and community healing ("if I could heal myself...we can heal this community" (11:50, Aqeela)).
  • Started neighborhood marches and conversations about abuse and trauma among young Black men—found shared stories and catalyzed collective action.

★ [Key Segment – The Watts Peace Treaty]

• Catalyst for Change: The 1992 Peace Treaty (14:08–17:20)
  • Sharing his childhood traumas opened doors for peer healing circles.
  • Organizing marches and chants built solidarity and visibility, shifting local narratives.
  • Unprecedented dialogue with law enforcement (including sympathetic Black officers) and focus on education about rights, challenging both police abuse and neighborhood violence (“We started out just by marching...speaking with our so-called enemies." (14:42, Aqeela)).
  • Notable fact: Watts homicides dropped 44% in the first years after the treaty.

Scaling the Model: From Watts to Newark and Beyond

• Expanding Impact to Newark, NJ (19:31–21:31)

  • Collaborated with local leaders, including Ras Baraka (now mayor), to bring peace treaty philosophy and community violence intervention to Newark.
  • Developed the Newark Community Street Team:
    • Recruited “credible messengers” with roots and trust in the neighborhood.
    • Intensive training in conflict resolution and de-escalation.
    • Result: 12% reduction in homicide in first three years.

• Public Safety as Community Ownership (21:45–23:41)

  • Launched Public Safety Roundtable for regular, direct resident engagement.
  • Small wins like restoring street lights became symbols of reclaimed agency ("Turning on lights...Small victory for the community to be able to claim power." (23:44, Aqeela)).
  • Broadened the definition of public safety beyond police ("public safety is kind of this term we use a lot, and it has been baked into us to associate it with police interventions. But...it is a constellation of a lot of different things." (23:47, Ana))

Redefining Relationships: Community-Based Interventions and Police

• “A Professional Understanding” (25:30–28:26)
  • Honest discussion of historic tensions and broken trust with law enforcement ("for decades have been strained to non existent. It's more have been more of an occupying force...", 26:04, Aqeela).
  • Modern approach: separate tracks but shared goal—trust built through information-sharing and clarity about roles.
  • Recognition of systemic issues facing police (understaffing, trauma, overwork) and need for healing for both police and community ("Law enforcement, honestly, as a ubiquitous institution that's responsible for all safety, it's just not real. It puts our cops in harm's way. So I'm like, who is protecting our cops?" (26:55, Aqeela)).
  • Launch of “Trauma to Trust” program—making space for police and residents to share trauma and learn together (28:49).

The Scaling Safety Project: Taking Success Nationwide

• Scaling Safety (30:44–33:21)
  • New flagship initiative aims for a 50% reduction in violence in five cities: Austin, Cleveland, Jackson (MS), Miami, and Tucson.
  • Approach:
    • Identify violent "hotspots" with precise data.
    • Build infrastructure of existing local organizations, expand resident access to services, increase advocacy.
    • "We're planning to triple the financial infrastructure of organizations. We're planning to double residents access to services, serving 2.5 million people across those five cities." (32:33, Aqeela)
    • Emphasis on permanent and community-led change, not outside imposition. ("We’re actually investing in building the infrastructure of these agencies, lifting them up, helping them to expand their services..." (32:58))

Why Everyone Should Care: Violence is Both Outward and Inward

• Universal Relevance (33:47–36:27)
  • Even communities untouched by visible violence often contend with private, unaddressed trauma ("Homicide and suicide are opposite sides of the same coin because at the base of them is the same sexual, physical and psychological abuse that we haven't addressed..." (34:05, Aqeela)).
  • The culture of silence around harm leads to long-term wounds; all communities would benefit from intentional healing spaces.
  • Emphasizes need for credible messengers and trained community actors ("It's about being smart on justice, and not tough on crime." (36:18, Aqeela))

Closing Reflections: What Public Safety Really Means

• Defining Public Safety (37:03)
  • “Public safety is not just the absence of violence and crime, family. It's also the presence of wellbeing and the infrastructure to support victims and survivors in their respective.” (37:03, Aqeela)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gang Labeling and Media:
  "The label dehumanized us and it desensitized the public to our cry for help." (07:57, Aqeela)
• On Healing as a Precursor to Community Safety:
  "If I could heal myself, then we can heal this community." (11:50, Aqeela)
• On Role of Law Enforcement:
  "Law enforcement…as a ubiquitous institution that's responsible for all safety, it's just not real. It puts our cops in harm's way. So I'm like, who is protecting our cops?" (26:55, Aqeela)
• On the Meaning of Safety:
  "Safety is a shared strategy and it requires multiple interventions. Right. And we can't put all of that on our cops to do, because they're not equipped." (28:26, Aqeela)
• On Universal Need for Healing:
  "Violence, in any form, is important to be able to address taking a community approach. We have to create more intentional spaces in the culture for people to be able to talk about the deep secrets and shame in their personal life that actually leads to homicide or leads to suicide." (35:15, Aqeela)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:14 – Aqeela’s childhood, Nation of Islam, and early encounters with injustice
• 06:40 – Gangs as surrogate families; impact of poverty and trauma
• 09:39 – Coming to terms with childhood sexual abuse; finding language and courage in college
• 14:08 – The Watt’s Peace Treaty: origins and impact
• 17:39 – Outcomes: 44% drop in homicides, community transformation
• 19:56 – Adapting the model in Newark, NJ
• 21:45 – Launch and successes of the Public Safety Roundtable
• 25:30 – Redefining relationship with law enforcement
• 28:48 – “Trauma to Trust” and shared healing
• 30:44 – The Scaling Safety Initiative: nationwide expansion
• 33:47 – Why these solutions matter beyond high-violence communities
• 37:03 – Final thoughts: Public safety as presence of wellbeing and support

Language & Tone

The conversation is frank, reflective, and rooted in lived experience. Both Ana Zamora and Aqeela Sherrills are empathetic, grounded, and hopeful, emphasizing the power of community, the necessity of healing, and the value of local wisdom in creating enduring safety.

For Listeners New to the Topic

This episode offers both a compelling personal narrative and a practical roadmap for rethinking public safety—moving from “tough on crime” to “smart on justice.” Whether you live in a high-violence city or a quiet suburb, the call is for everyone to be part of a new, more compassionate infrastructure for safety, healing, and justice.

Standout Takeaway:

“Public safety is not just the absence of violence and crime…it’s also the presence of wellbeing and the infrastructure to support victims and survivors.” (37:03, Aqeela Sherrills)

Related Resources:

• [Watch Aqeela Sherrills’ TED Talk]
• Learn more at The Just Trust