"I didn't become a drug dealer because I needed money or I wanted to get rich - my thing was helping my peoples," he said.
Albert Jones, a 36-year-old former drug dealer from Robinwood who now mentors youths and is active at Light of the World, remembers bumper stickers that read, "Living is good in Robinwood."
Jones, whose son is involved with the Army ROTC and swim team at Annapolis High School, said it pains him to see neighborhood teens repeating his mistakes.
"When I was young, those kids [getting into trouble now] were toddlers. If there was two or three crack houses and we were hanging out, those were the kids crawling around in the smoke. Those were the kids that mom set on the couch while she went in the kitchen [to do drugs]," said Albert Jones, who as a PCP dealer was known as A.J. Love.
"To come back years later and see those kids - that's where you get the rebellion, the hate. It's hard to deal with."
Another face in the crowd was Ruby Tyler Brown, whose 18-year-old son was fatally shot by a city police officer in Robinwood in 1996.
Brown, who unsuccessfully sued the city years later, said she has "forgiven the police department" and has only in recent years gained the strength to speak publicly about it, though she still has reservations.
"I wanted to stand in for the mothers that have lost their children," Brown said.
Most attendees seemed to accept that solving the community's problems will have to come from within.
"In order for the dumb stuff to stop, you gotta stop," said the Rev. Stephen A. Tillet, pastor at Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church, as he spoke to a group of young people. "You gotta make up your mind, that if there's any dumb stuff, it's not going to be because of me."
justin.fenton@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Nicole Fuller contributed to this article.
