Leonard J. Hammonds II is a name you will be hearing a lot more about in the future. Since he came back to Pittsburgh in 2012, he has made community outreach his central focus, primarily by reaching out to children and youth.
He is an organizer/activist for Peace Pittsburgh, a community based movement for peace, justice, and equality for the Greater Pittsburgh area and which is led by Pastor Charlie Ragin. He’s also a member of the Penn Hills NAACP, CeaseFirePA as a strong advocate for gun violence prevention, The Guns For Opportunity program and other local programs, and initiatives in the Pittsburgh area.
Hammonds, a 38-year old Penn Hills and Swissvale native whose working parents were seldom home, took to the streets as a youth.
“I had my brushes with the law when I was younger and I was fortunate enough to live through it,” he said. Like all people who decide on any career, a point came where he hit a crossroads and had to make a decision if a life of crime was the route he really wanted to go.
“I decided I could either be a menace to society or I could minister to society,” he said. So Hammonds enlisted in the Marines and spent eight years serving his country. Upon returning, he became a recruiter for the Marines to show people there is more to the world than meets the eye. “People think they are a product of their environment but I tell people they are a product of their imagination.”
Hammonds is a top advocate trying to keep the violence that has plagued many inner city neighborhoods from creeping into the suburbs of Penn Hills.
“Most people have initiatives in Homewood and areas of great concern, but I live in Penn Hills. I’m driving around Penn Hills seeing all of the things that need to be addressed and I prayed on it and the Lord told me you live in Penn Hills and you need to focus here,” he said.
Hammonds formed Justice For Dougie in January after his cousin Edwin Douglas “Dougie” Hammonds was killed in Penn Hills.
“I led a group of friends and family on the pursuit of Justice For Dougie,” he said. “We worked with The Boilermakers 154 with the Guns For Opportunity program. This program offered people jobs and training with the Local 154 in exchange for a gun off the streets. This was very successful in taking 80 plus guns off the streets, and putting 80 plus people in position for gainful employment. Guns For Opportunity was important to me because my cousin was a boilermaker with the Local 154.”
When it comes to Stop the Violence slogans, one would think that someone who has suffered as many personal tragedies as Hammonds would be the first to shout it as well, but no.
“A lot of people say stop the violence but that’s giving violence more of a platform than it deserves so what can we do to increase the peace,” he said. “I have lost my cousin Dougie, and I had also lost my cousin, Riyaad, to senseless violence. I now champion for him and all victims of senseless violence with Iron Cross Community Ministries as program manager for Community Outreach under Rev. Cornell Jones.”
Iron Cross has a sub-section that does evangelism to the neighborhood called Mobile Motorcycle Ministries. “The motorcycles were a tool to bring Christ to a different group of people,” he said.
As a member of the Penn Hills NAACP, he is taking a lead role in politics as well.
“I’m working on the political empowerment component currently registering voters and working on a series of candidate forums in Penn Hills.”
He began a new chapter in his life as president of VII Pillars in Lincoln Park Community Center on Sept. 2.
“That is my organizing and consulting firm in which I help non-profits and individuals develop and implement different initiatives throughout the city. VII Pillars is in place to help others take their vision from concept to reality.” Hammonds also hosted the We Are One event on Sept. 12 at the YMCA and said he is working on a program called Hauling in Opportunity. The busy Hammonds will also launch his nonprofit, MomentumPA, in October.
“MomentumPA will change the dynamic of the African American community by focusing on economic empowerment, advocacy, activism, and political empowerment through voter education and registration,” he said. “Hauling in Opportunity will help find jobs for the hard-to-serve community in the area of junk removal. I have found from working with others what is truly missing in our communities.”
The only obstacle he said he has encountered is lethargy from time-to-time from the people who should be most concerned with their own community’s welfare.
“We need more people in the street, the bible says the harvesters are plentiful but the laborers are few,” he said although remaining undeterred. “Being a person who has overcome great obstacles myself, I will continue to share my testimony and help to inspire, transform, and transcend others into their full potential.”
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