National Night Out 2008: the West Side represents

National Night Out energized the nation on August 5, 2008. The community-based event was initially developed as a creative way to address crime and bring attention to drug prevention. The long list of block parties, public gatherings, ice cream socials, and cookouts stretched throughout local neighborhoods. A powerful movement nestled in the Mississippi riverbank on St. Paul’s West Side was stirring with change -- real action toward solidifying black-white-brown unity.

B FRESH Photography

Enrique “Cha-cho” Estrada (L) is the Community & Youth Advocate and National Night Out organizer for the West Side’s Neighborhood House. “There has been a lot of tension in the neighborhoods with the different races," he said, "and the whole goal today is to bring everyone from the community together.”