Anti-crime campaign will be launched in St. Louis this weekend

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- As many as 20,000 black men will march Sunday against crime and other ills that have infested some St. Louis neighborhoods.

But organizers say the tough work begins thereafter.

Black ministers, businessmen and community leaders have been working behind the scenes since February on an initiative to reduce crime and violence and reclaim struggling neighborhoods in St. Louis and its inner ring suburbs.

The "Call to Oneness" campaign is being launched this weekend with panel discussions and neighborhood meetings on what organizers are calling a "state of emergency" in the black community.

The weekend's events culminate with Sunday's march through a once proud, but now troubled north St. Louis neighborhood.

Long-term activities include outreach to gang members, mentoring and going door-to-door in neighborhoods to gather crime information.