The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Tuesday is Election Night and most Americans will be glued to their couches and TVs to see how the results play out.
But in Red Bank, Gilda Rogers is hoping people will come out to grapple with a close-to-home tragedy: a fatal double shooting and subsequent criminal charges that took the life of one Red Bank man and upended the life of another.
Rogers, Executive Director of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center is organizing a community meeting and an “important and healing discussion” in the wake of charges announced last week against four people for the July 10 shooting of Mikal Muhammad (pictured below) on River Street.
Among the four charged in connection with the killing of Mikal Muhammed is Sadiq Palmer, (pictured at below) who was raised in Red Bank and well known for his standout football career at Red Bank Regional High School and the University of Massachusetts.
“Two Shining stars, Mikal Muhammad and Sadiq Palmer, both of whom I knew, brilliant young men, both seeking success in their lives, and to have one murdered and the other embroiled in a homicide, is devastating to the community,” Rogers wrote in a statement released Sunday evening. 
Palmer and three other suspects are scheduled to make their first appearance in court Superior Court in Freehold Wednesday.
Palmer and Lahmeir C. Hill, 31, of Pemberton Borough (Burlington County) were each charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, and various second-degree weapons charges. Simone K. Moultrie, 53, of Red Bank, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of third-degree hindering. Ticco K. Griffin, 29, also of Red Bank, was charged with one count of third-degree hindering.
Tuesday’s discussion is scheduled for 6 pm. at the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center at 94 Drs. James Parker Boulevard.
Here is the full statement from Gilda Rogers about Tuesday night’s meeting:
WHY?
By Gilda Rogers
Red Bank. Two Shing stars, Mikil Muhammad and Sadiq Palmer, both of whom I knew,
brilliant young men, both seeking success in their lives, and to have one murdered and
the other embroiled in a homicide, is devastating to the community. Although, this
tragedy is not isolated to Red Bank. It is everywhere.
Why?
We’re a very violent nation. We pretend to be civilized by not passing laws to protect
American citizens from gun-violence that runs rampant in this country. The fact that
books are banned and not guns is outlandish behavior that clearly speaks to the upside down
world of American Culture in 2024.
Then we say, “This is not who we are.” Yes, it is!
This is who we have evolved into as a nation, when the lives of young people show up
in the data as another statistic for research purposes, instead of seated at the table for
Thanksgiving dinner.
Why?
These are just a few of the questions we’ll look to address at the T. Thomas Fortune
Cultural Center on election night, from 6- 9 pm. It is time we talk about what is ailing us
and see how we can fix ourselves, for the sake of creating a better, more loving and
peaceful society.
America is a nation who cares very little about the other, or the moral sanctity of the
country. It was “Nelson Mandela who said: “One of the most difficult things to change is
not society – but yourself.” We’re a society where mass killings, most often committed
by white men and crimes such as the matter above, committed by black men against
the other, are now deemed normal.
How did we get here?
Join us for an important and healing discussion
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
