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A Saturday morning, blue skies, Oak Park palms dancing gently. The occasional bike streams by and within the walls of Brickhouse Gallery, Black women gather in a safe space to be authentically themselves. What might look like a typical brunch event quickly reveals the intimate and deeper intentions of Toni McNeil and Dr. Teah Hairston, who co-host the gathering. McNeil, founder and president of Concrete Development LLC and the facilitator of the Anti-Black Conversations series, came from Stockton to join Dr. Hairston as the ticketed event’s co-host. Dr. Hairston, vice president of Safe Black Spaces and founder of Be Love Holistic, dedicates her work to supporting Black women with information and resources for an optimal life.

STOCKTON -- Thursday marked a violent night in Stockton with teenagers the victims of two different shootings, one of them deadly.

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They happened just 6 miles from each other, but according to Stockton Police do not seem related at this time.

The first, a double homicide around 9 p.m. on Tiffany Street, near Van Buren Elementary School. 

Three male victims were found shot on scene; a 17-year-old died at the hospital, a 19-year-old survived and a 20-year-old died on scene.

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Just three hours later, another overnight shooting. The victim was a 13-year-old, shot in the foot as bullets flew when police say a house party on Ishi Goto Street turned violent. The teen survives, a house and nearby car were also hit by bullets.

In the city of Stockton, Calif., gun violence was already notably on the rise in 2011 because of a series of compounding circumstances. First, there were cutbacks in law enforcement due to a city budget crisis. There were turf wars between gangs due to mass migration from the San Francisco Bay Area as a result of the rise in rent and a loss of affordable housing. Finally, there was a lack of community witnesses and crime reporting due to lack of trust in law enforcement officers. 

Community organizer Toni McNeil told FOX40 she supports the student-led protest. 

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“Bickering amongst individual trustees and board members, especially publicly, that’s not professional,” McNeil explained. “And it does not reflect the staff and it doesn’t reflect the students. That needs to be changed.”

The controversial anti-violence program is making a positive community impact, according to UC Berkeley study

Stockton police, community activists address issues, participate in live online broadcast

“Dangerous” communities are in fact communities that have experienced extraordinary historical and recent harm, reject violence and respect the law, and do most of the work of creating public safety. There is important work to do in replacing common misconceptions with a deeper understanding of and respect for what is real.

"We are bringing in more clergy and faith leaders in the community and congregations in order to help advocate (and) organize for more resources," McNeil said.