By Gloria Vittadello
Staff Writer
After a 14-year-old was shot down the street from his house in Trenton, New Jersey, Maleki Johnson and his family knew it was time to leave.
Johnson, now 21, is a student at Mercer County Community College. He lives here on campus through a housing program that allows students to experience a university setting while attending MCCC.
He lived in Trenton until he was 14, before moving to Pennington, a town less than 10 miles away, but with significantly less crime.
Trenton was once a thriving industrial hub known for its convenient location between New York City and Philadelphia. Its manufacturing power was made known throughout the country, which influenced the historic slogan, “Trenton Makes, The World Takes.” After World War II, though, factory closures and suburban migration left the city struggling with poverty, joblessness and rising violence.
Trenton ranked fourth highest in the nation for gun violence against youth in 2017, according to a New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Facebook post. While a steady decline has been recorded since then, Trenton's youth is still at risk when it comes to gun violence and crime caused by street gangs.
Growing up in Trenton, Johnson said that the city’s history affected his environment, where safety was uncertain and opportunities felt out of reach.
“We left Trenton because of the gun violence, and the street gang called ‘H-Block’ three blocks away from my house,” Johnson said. “The gangs are in sections. I lived right down the street from the main affiliated area, where a kid was shot.”
After that day, his mother had enough, he said.
The following week, Johnson, his mother, his older brother and his four younger siblings moved out of the home they owned in Trenton.
“After moving to Pennington, I didn’t always feel like I had to turn my head every second to make sure I wasn’t being followed,” Johnson explained. “I didn’t always have to wear a hoodie.”
Although he felt safer in Pennington, he says he brought his Trenton lifestyle to his new home — it was simply what he was used to, he said.
“When I moved to Hopewell, I brought that [anger] with me,” he said. “I did until it caught up to me. It got to a point where I had to go on probation. I’ve been off probation for three years now, and have realized that fighting isn’t the way, and I can’t trust everyone.”
His father and step-siblings still live in Trenton, so he returns occasionally.
“I only go there for my haircuts, picking up my little siblings and to see my father,” he said. “That’s pretty much it. I hate it there, I always have to watch my back.”
Now, living in a different area, Johnson said he understands what his mother was trying to do for him.
“Instead of spending my time fighting and getting distracted, I'm working towards my goals,” he said. “I have too much to lose.”
Johnson said that when you grow up in a place where you constantly feel like you’re being watched, you become defensive.
“Half of my friends from Trenton are locked up now,” Johnson said, placing his hand slowly on his chest.
He expressed that growing up he was often angry, but because he was moved to a place where he felt like he could grow and thrive, he says he’s been changed for the better.
“I enjoy the people here,” Johnson said while describing what it’s like to live on campus. “These people have future careers. I have friends that go here that are going for their bachelors. Two that are going for their masters.”
Moving out of a place he says wasn’t meant for him, and being able, with the help of his family, to eventually live on campus has changed his life, Johnson said.
“The biggest difference is my environment. I love my environment. I feel safe in my environment,” Johnson said.
At MCCC, Johnson is studying criminal justice, and hopes to become a police officer to help kids like him.
