‘Guns 4 Greatness’ gun buyback program promises cash, mentoring — and Beyoncé tickets

theGRIO REPORT - This Saturday, in partnership with the NYPD and numerous other entities, Guns 4 Greatness will take place in a large church in East New York, Brooklyn -- an area plagued by crime...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Thinking big, starting small

As the impact of Guns 4 Greatness is determined, Williams and his partners plan to expand it nationally to major cities such as Chicago and Detroit, using their personal contacts to provide career assistance to participants, as they raise money for the program from the private sector.

But, the ambitions of Saturday’s kick-off are modest.

“My first goal was grandiose. I thought, ‘I’m going to get 200, 250 guns off the streets,'” Williams admitted. “But now I am resigned to think, ‘If I get one gun off the streets, I’ve saved two lives.’

“If one person comes through that door, and he doesn’t use that gun to hurt somebody, and he doesn’t go to jail, then to me it’s a success,” he said.

Filling a void in the current gun violence debate by addressing circumstances that lead to crimes specifically impacting people of color, African-American leaders such as Williams, McMillan, and more are taking this opportunity to help the black community in an innovative way.

“‘To whom much is given, of him much shall be required,’ I do believe in that,” McMillan said. “So at this time, we’re required to try and do something that’s important while there’s a national movement. We should be in that conversation.”

A message of hope

Guns 4 Greatness will take place on Saturday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Christian Cultural Center located at 12020 Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. Participants can receive $200 for a working handgun or assault rifle, payable in the form of bank cards, in addition to professional mentoring.

Williams wants youths engaging in gun-related activities to know: “You can make a change.

“If you are grabbing a gun for whatever reason, today or tomorrow, you have an option,” he continued. “A lot of kids don’t have fathers. A lot of kids are dropping out of school. Forty-six percent of minority kids aren’t finishing high school. So, these people are disconnected. They don’t know how to get back into a program. They don’t know how to get back on the right path. This is a chance to get on the right path. All you have to do is come in, and turn in your gun.”

Just as he is wisely starting small, Williams encourages people considering the program to take baby steps.

“You could have four guns. I’m telling you to come and turn in one, and get a chance to get on the path, and see if that change makes your life better than it is now.”

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE