Cornwallis Road community teens air concerns to Durham leaders: 'We are not cared about'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- In two years, Zion Robinson will be a voter in the Bull City. He has lived in the Cornwallis Road community with his family for 10 years. From his 16-year-old perspective, he shared the issues he believes plague the neighborhood.

"Drug abuse, gun violence, and things not getting fixed around here," he said.

He was among many teens in the audience who took part in a community conversation that covered a number of issues affecting them and their families. One of the issues referenced was potholes not being fixed.

"It damages the cars and has folks walking further. It has us thinking we are not cared about in this community," said Lashauna Lundsford, who used to live in Cornwallis.

ABC11 took her concerns to Durham Housing Authority interim CEO Anthony Snell, who said stormwater drainage issues are a result of the aging infrastructure.

It's a process that he said could take two months to fix.

"This community is looking for expedited repair, but I can't do it because of the nature of the work. It doesn't allow me to replace a stormwater system in 24 hours. It's not going to happen," Snell said.

According to Durham Public Housing, of the 581 Cornwallis Road residents, 96% are African American. The median household income in this community is $14,000.

The panel was hosted by a mentorship organization called Graced to Be Your Best, which aims to give teens an opportunity to ask the mayor, district attorney, and other political candidates questions that matter to them and their families.

"This community is looked down on and doesn't get a lot of support or care about it at all," said Tony Lundsford, 15.

Lundsford asked Mayor Leonardo Williams to explain the status of the Heritage Square project in the historic Hayti community. He also asked Williams about a controversial word used to reference young people and crime at a recent town hall that the mayor spoke at. The mayor said he thought the word meant "youngin."

"Whether we say young Black men and boys or we're looking at each other, the fact is it's too many people like you and I dying on these streets and not enough people talking about it," said Williams.

His opponent for mayor, Anjanee Bell, shared her perspective.

"Words give life or death. If you don't understand a word, don't use the word," said Bell.