With 101 Homicides, Newark Nears a Bleak Milestone

NEWARK, Dec. 15 — The flickering votives, the tearful relatives and the angry activists scolding City Hall for the death of a young mother. It was a familiar tableau as a small crowd huddled to mark the killing of Taheerah Sweat, who the police say was shot twice by a man who had taken her out on the town but then left her to die on the chilly pavement after they had a fight.

Ms. Sweat’s killing early on Sunday was the 101st homicide in Newark this year, the authorities said, one body short of a 1995 record, when Newark was buckling under a wave of crack-fueled mayhem.

With three times the number of homicides per capita as New York, Newark remains one of the most violent cities in the country. New York’s homicide rate has edged up this year, but it is nowhere near that of the late 1980s. Cities across the country, including Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando, San Antonio and Boston, have seen increased killings, part of a two-year rise in major crimes after a decadelong drop.

Underground Railroad Bicycle Route

Since I already own a touring bike and the requisite camping gear, I figure why not another cycling trip? I'm planning on cycling the Underground Railroad Bike Route this coming spring. The route starts in Mobile, Alabama and ends in upstate New York, or where at least it would end for me. I haven't spent much time in the South before, and I’m aware of the rumored bigotry, prejudice, ignorance and narrow mindedness overtones that supposedly persist there, yet I’m curious. I want to experience the South first hand and learn a little bit more about the Underground Railroad along the way, or as much as I can on a month and a half tour.

DISCOVER AMERICA'S LEGENDARY ROUTE TO FREEDOM

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route honors the bravery of those that fled bondage and those that provided shelter. This route passes points of interest and historic sites along a 2,100-mile corridor. Beginning in Mobile, Alabama - a busy port for slavery during the pre-civil war era - the route goes north following rivers through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Waterways, as well as the North Star, were often used by freedom seekers as a guide in their journeys to escape slavery. Upon crossing into Ohio, the route leaves the river to head toward Lake Erie and enters Canada at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, New York. In Ontario, the route follows the shores of Lake Ontario and ends at Owen Sound, a town founded by freedom seekers 150 years ago.