First for April 29, 2016

Time to heal
This week we are focusing on violence in Wilmington. The death last week of Amy Joyner-Francis is a starting point for the conversation; the beginning of that dialog started on the school grounds as Howard High School of Technology looks to heal from this death.

First Person
The irony of the attack is that it took place the same day eight Democrats running for Wilmington mayor in the September primary were supposed to debate at the school. The topic for the debate was violence and crime in Wilmington. During First Person we look at what might be the root cause of violence in Delaware’s largest city. We are joined by Yasser Payne, a UD professor in the Black American Studies Department, and former Wilmington Mayor James Baker.

Recognition
Most of the media coverage of the death of Amy Joyner-Francis on April 21st indicated this was an isolated incident. While it was an undeniably violent act that put the school and the city in a negative spotlight, it should be noted that historically, Howard High School has been at the forefront of a lot of positive headlines.

Conflict resolution
As we record our broadcast this week there is still a question of how many students were involved in the Howard High School of Technology incident and exactly what happened. The tragic story opens up all types of discussions that focus on conflict resolution and intervention. Faye Blake who works with teenage students in Sussex County and runs the program Pathways to Success is here to talk about incidents like this could be prevented and more.

Howard community
One of the more striking things to come out of the death of Amy Joyner Francis is the way people have come together to demonstrate why this act can’t be tolerated. But also to show there are better things happening in the community. To wrap up our conversation for this week’s First we’ve invited Pastor Derrick Johnson, from the Joshua Harvest Church. Many people know him as Pastor D.