Earl Best
Encyclopedia
Earl Best a community organizer better known as the "Street Doctor", is a convicted bank robber who spent 10 years in solitary confinement
and now works with the poor on the streets of Newark, New Jersey
. He founded the Street Warriors organization in 2003. As of 2011, Best remains active preaching nonviolence and delivering blankets, food and supplies to poor people of Newark with his van.
evidence. He spent ten years in solitary confinement while serving 17 years in prison for the robbery. During his solitary imprisonment, he studied spiritual writings, psychology, and law, and he prayed that he would be able to help others if released. In a 2011 interview, he said: “I wanted to make a difference in kids’ lives because no one made a difference in mine.”
Best was released from prison in 2000. Within three years, he set up an organization called Street Warriors with several other former criminal offenders. Its programs included a summer youth program, mentoring
for teenagers living in public housing
, gang awareness and intervention programs for adults and youth, and sports activities including a boxing
club and a basketball
team. For a few years, the organization maintained a center, but the center closed due to a lack of ongoing funding. Best now runs his charitable activities out of a donated van.
is giving people “food for the mind and for the heart ... If they’re about violence, I show them how in my own life I took the energy I put into violence and put it into peace.” Best says he gives kids his cell phone number and urges them to phone him first if they ever decide they’re going to “do something bad.” His other charitable activities for young people include organizing a beach trip for 60 teenagers to celebrate Father’s Day.
. In 2009, Best eulogized a fellow anti-violence activist, Yusuf Shabazz, who died from gunshot wounds at age 22. Shabazz had been arrested for selling drugs at age 16, but had managed to turn his life around. He received training in film editing from a non-profit youth group, Aspira, and began to make films about ending gang violence.
In May 2011 Best was a featured speaker at the 2011 Newark Peace Education Summit, an international conference on nonviolence
that also featured the Dalai Lama
.
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
and now works with the poor on the streets of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. He founded the Street Warriors organization in 2003. As of 2011, Best remains active preaching nonviolence and delivering blankets, food and supplies to poor people of Newark with his van.
Biography
Best grew up in the city's South Ward. He was arrested for bank robbery on June 13, 1983, and subsequently convicted, at least partially on the basis of fingerprintFingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
evidence. He spent ten years in solitary confinement while serving 17 years in prison for the robbery. During his solitary imprisonment, he studied spiritual writings, psychology, and law, and he prayed that he would be able to help others if released. In a 2011 interview, he said: “I wanted to make a difference in kids’ lives because no one made a difference in mine.”
Best was released from prison in 2000. Within three years, he set up an organization called Street Warriors with several other former criminal offenders. Its programs included a summer youth program, mentoring
Mentoring
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
for teenagers living in public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
, gang awareness and intervention programs for adults and youth, and sports activities including a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
club and a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team. For a few years, the organization maintained a center, but the center closed due to a lack of ongoing funding. Best now runs his charitable activities out of a donated van.
Street ministry
Best carries goods such as blankets and food in his van, for distribution at places where homeless people or panhandlers congregate. He says that people relax after eating, and he stays to "hang out" with people after he drops off his donations. “Peace is about being relaxed, and you know what, food relaxes people. You don’t see people frowning when they eat. Food is peace.” The locations Best serves food include abandoned buildings, panhandling sites, prisons, juvenile halls, and schools. He says that part of his street ministryHomeless ministry
Homeless ministry is the intentional interaction between Christians and homeless persons, regardless of their faith. The ministering typically occurs in the environment in which the homeless reside. It may include distribution of provisions such as food, clothing, and blankets...
is giving people “food for the mind and for the heart ... If they’re about violence, I show them how in my own life I took the energy I put into violence and put it into peace.” Best says he gives kids his cell phone number and urges them to phone him first if they ever decide they’re going to “do something bad.” His other charitable activities for young people include organizing a beach trip for 60 teenagers to celebrate Father’s Day.
Awards and recognition
Earl Best has received various awards, and has been cited in news stories about crime in Newark. In 2008, Best was unexpectedly honored by GQ Magazine at its Gentlemen's Ball in New York City, receiving an award from actor Forest WhitakerForest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
. In 2009, Best eulogized a fellow anti-violence activist, Yusuf Shabazz, who died from gunshot wounds at age 22. Shabazz had been arrested for selling drugs at age 16, but had managed to turn his life around. He received training in film editing from a non-profit youth group, Aspira, and began to make films about ending gang violence.
In May 2011 Best was a featured speaker at the 2011 Newark Peace Education Summit, an international conference on nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
that also featured the Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
.