We now have a documented case of at least one violent act – possibly a homicide – that the Circle Up documentary helped prevent. After one of our recent workshops at a large urban high school, in which dozens of students and staff “circled up” to watch the film and talk about restorative justice, a school social worker asked film participant Clarissa Turner if she could speak to an upset student.
“The social worker had been working with this young man for many months and didn’t know what else to do,” says Clarissa, whose son Marquis was murdered in 2011 on the way to visit his son. “This young man was tensed, he was hurt, he was angry. His color was red.” He had been in an escalating confrontation with a rival gang member who lived across the street from his home. After many months of clashes, he was tired of fighting and had begun to speak of getting a gun and ending the situation.
“Before I give any talk or speak with someone, I always pray and ask God to guide my tongue,” Clarissa explains. I want to be able to give my testimony in a way that can help others.” She introduced herself to the young man and began to explore the situation with him, asking whether there was anyone who knew both sides and could mediate. “I let him know that I see his pain – he was just so exhausted with this situation. I also asked him, ‘What do you want to do in the future, what do you want out of life?’ He spoke highly of himself and had lots of dreams. I told him, ‘Give yourself a chance to do that – don’t allow the streets to cheat you of that.’
“That was our conversation – just birthing in life, decisions, the control and power he has over his choices,” she continues. “We are here to prevent, to plant seeds, to educate on the value of life. So people can think before they do their actions. Because him taking that young man’s life could cost him his life, either through retaliation or incarceration. And I know how that feels to lose.
“Our conversation gave him tools. And finally he said, ‘I don’t know what I’m gonna do, but I’m not gonna do that.’ He was a different kid after that. His color came back, he was smiling. It brought me to tears when I extended my hand to say goodbye and he gave me the biggest hug.
“I have been transformed a great deal from doing this work,” Clarissa says. “We bring our true selves and share our testimony – and so many people’s lives have been changed by Circle Up.”
Clarissa Turner founded Legacy Lives On, a non-profit ministry to support families that have lost loved ones to homicide or street violence.