Some members of Buffalo's African American community say they are poorly portrayed in the local media. They say too much coverage of east side crime and youth violence dominates the news, covering up good things happening in their neighborhoods.
"And I see that we don't have enough community centers to give these children something to do," said Gina Davis. Davis says concerns with troubled youth starts in the home.
"And then some of these children don't even have a home that's structured to give them the confident outlook on life, so they turn to the streets," noted Davis.
Davis says community centers in their neighborhoods close too early, leaving children without a place to go. Most recently Davis noted that some basketball courts are being torn down.
"Broadway and Spring and then at Masten and Best. And you wonder why our children are just running around with nothing to do," said Davis.
Calvin Johnson takes children to different gyms to play basketball so they can practice. Johnson is concerned that man good things in his community are begin ignored. He pointed to Davis -- who recently held her cancer walked. She's
Davis is a breast cancer survivor. Her event raised 25-hundred dollars to help other cancer patients and survivors. "Because she had a beautiful walk at Martin Luther King Park against cancer," said Johnson. Nobody was there to cover it. What about the good things we do in the community."
Johnson believes young criminals are getting too much attention for the violence they are creating. Buffalo resident Charles Cruel is friends of Johnson and Davis. Cruel, a carpenter, said he would also like to start a training trade school for felons. Crule would also like to see a larger center for families to gather.
"My goal is open up like a family entertainment in the city," said Cruel. "But it's all about funding, trying to find different places to get your numbers together so you can get the money to do what I want to do."
Cruel, Davis and Johnson say they're trying to make their community a better place to live.