[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2922]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING E. STEVEN COLLINS AND RADIO ONE FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE 
                  SAFETY AND WELLBEING OF PHILADELPHIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 2007

  Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Radio One in 
Philadelphia and E. Steven Collins, National Sales Manager, for their 
extraordinary civic-minded efforts in support of the ``Groceries for 
Guns Initiative'' during the 2007 Martin Luther King's birthday 
celebration.
  Creative and determined promotion by Radio One through its three FM 
outlets in the Philadelphia market, under the direction of Mr. Collins, 
led directly to a successful outcome beyond anyone's expectations.
  The initiative, spearheaded by Philadelphia City Councilwoman 
Blondell Reynolds Brown in cooperation with my Congressional office and 
Business Manager John Dougherty of Local 98, International Brotherhood 
of Electrical Workers, produced the surrender of 252 weapons to the 
Philadelphia Police Department, including 177 handguns and several 
sawed off shotguns.
  What better way to pay tribute to Dr. King's message and legacy of 
non-violence than to remove these potential instruments of crime from 
our streets?
  And it occurred shortly after the city experienced one of its 
deadliest years in recent history. In 2006, the toll of homicide 
victims in Philadelphia was 406. Eighty five percent of these victims 
were killed by firearms.
  This extraordinary outpouring by the citizens of Philadelphia and the 
Delaware Valley would not have reached such dramatic numbers without 
the efforts of Radio One and its stations--100.3 The Beat, 103.9 
Praise, and 107.9 R&B. Radio One and its personalities promoted an 
ongoing anti-violence, anti-gun, anti-drug campaign of personal 
responsibility on the theme, ``It Starts With Me, It Starts With You.''
  For a week in advance of the ``no questions asked'' gun surrender, 
Radio One air personalities promoted ``Groceries for Guns'' through 
public service announcements, interviews with Councilwoman Reynolds 
Brown and myself and numerous appeals. Mr. Collins, a longtime 
respected voice in Philadelphia radio, conducted some of these 
interviews on his own show.
  On the day of the initiative, January 15, 2007, Pooch and Laiya and 
other Radio One personalities provided live interviews from outside the 
Columbia YMCA in North Philadelphia as hundreds of Philadelphians, 
young and old, lined up to exchange weapons for certificates worth $200 
in groceries at The Fresh Grocer outlets.
  Police officials expressed gratitude--and surprise--at the large 
number of weapons that were taken off the streets of Philadelphia and 
hauled away in the department's mobile mini-station in a single day's 
effort.
  I thank all the participants and especially Radio One and E. Steven 
Collins for their efforts to bring about a ``Gun Safe Philadelphia.''

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