Black preachers in Houston are seeking ways to deal with the epidemic of youth violence in their communities, The Houston Chronicle reports. “We’re going to scream from the rooftop” until the politicians respond, said the Rev. Robert Jefferson, pastor of Cullen Missionary Baptist Church. Jefferson, who’s over special projects for Houston Ministers Against Crime, was speaking at news conference convened a day after Police Chief Harold Hurtt pleaded with area churches, schools, businesses and other groups to help him come up with a way to curtail the regularity of Black men killing one another. According to the Chronicle, the number of young Black men murdered in Houston jumped from 42 to 129 during the study period. “Success doesn’t just happen,” Hurtt said. “It takes a lot of work and concerted effort.” The Chronicle also cites a national study released last month, which found a 13-percent increase in the number of Black suspects in Houston homicides between 2000-01 and 2006-07. That was the largest percentage increase among 28 U.S. cities, according to the study by Northeastern University criminologists James Fox and Marc Swatt.