After growing up in the streets of Wilmington, Darryl “Wolfie” Chambers earned a degree in sociology with an emphasis on organizational structure and a strong desire to make a positive difference in his community by reaching out directly to those impacted by crime and violence.
He joined up with other passionate community members who not only refused to shy away from violence in the city, but embraced the opportunity to connect with others in what could be one of their greatest moments of despair and pain, often finding himself at the scene of a crime or the home of a victim, consoling family members and friends.
The hope, he said, was that the outreach would encourage his community to seek healthier options in the wake of the crime instead of retaliation thus preventing crime and stopping the cycle of violence in its tracks.
Losing his own son to the same violence he hoped to prevent only deepened his resolve to serve his community.
In grappling with his own loss, he said he fought his own urge to retaliate until the mother of his son told him, “‘You don’t need a bloody revolution. You need a spiritual, economic, political revolution. So go out there and start that revolution.’”
He began working with other leaders to bring educational and other programming to the heart of Wilmington and founded the Center for Structural Equity where he and his team work to empower and equip “communities to respond to structural violence and promote structural equity to address social determinants of health.”
To do this, the center focuses on three priorities, including positive youth development, impactful community engagement and changing societal norms by fostering deeper and longer lasting relationships with community members, businesses and other organizations alike.
“I think there’s still more that’s needed to be done,” Chambers said. “One child is too many. So I’m trying to program my way out of a job.”
