Local DJ Helps At-Risk Kids
NBC 15, November 17, 2013Watch on YouTube
Media
In the News
Television and news coverage of Rodney “DJ Rodski” Toomer’s work with young people in Mobile.
On television
The work, on the evening news.
Mobile Youth Justice on Speak Up on FOX 10
FOX 10, May 18, 2010Watch on YouTube
Mentor proposes youth workforce transportation pilot program
FOX10 News, April 14, 2026Watch on YouTube
Fighting Back: Reaching Kids Through Music
NBC 15 News, May 27, 2014Watch on YouTube
LivestreamStreamed by the station
NBC 15 News, July 21, 2022
Targeting the Violence: Livestream
A live panel on teen violence in Mobile. Rodney "DJ Rodski" Toomer joins Dr. Reginald Crenshaw of the Mobile County school board and Joshua Jones of the Mobile Police Department, speaking about turning his own life around as an at-risk kid and what it takes to do the same for others.
Watch on NBC 15This one lives on the station’s site, so it opens there rather than playing on this page.
In the news
Stories from FOX10 and NBC 15 News.
FOX10 NewsJuly 27, 2026
Police still searching for suspect in Rickarby Street shooting; Local activist urges the community to speak up
Mobile police continue to search for the suspect, with DJ Rodski urging witnesses to come forward and support the victim and his family.
Read the storyFOX10 NewsApril 17, 2026
Local activist helps youth leaving Strickland make the most out of second chance
How DJ Rodski works with young men and women leaving the Strickland youth facility to help them break the cycle and take their second chance.
Read the storyFOX10 NewsMarch 11, 2026
"Is this what you want?" Local activist calls for youth in Mobile to make better choices
DJ Rodski challenges young people in Mobile to make better choices, and makes the case that mentorship and city investment are the keys to reducing youth violence.
Read the storyFOX10 NewsOctober 15, 2025
Mobile community advocate launches fight to keep at-risk youth on the right path
A Mobile community advocate pushes the City of Mobile's proposed Youth Agenda, "Building Pathways, Building Futures", aimed at keeping at-risk young people on the right path.
Read the storyNBC 15 NewsJune 2025
War of words on gang violence between Prichard mayor, Mobile County sheriff
A back and forth between the Prichard mayor and the Mobile County sheriff over gang violence, after a two-year-old was struck by a stray bullet. Community leader Rodney "DJ Rodski" Toomer, who had just hosted a camp for at-risk teenagers, is among those speaking up.
Read the storyCitizen PortalJune 10, 2025
Speakers urge more youth trauma supports, jobs and mentorship; council members pledge follow-up
Rodney "DJ Rodski" Toomer, a program director with Opportunities for Entertainers and a detention officer at the Strickland Youth Center, told the Mobile City Council that many young people in the city carry unaddressed trauma and need concrete support. He urged the council to expand mental health services, after-school programs and job opportunities, and to add more school counselors, safe after-school spaces, summer jobs and mentorship. Council members pledged to follow up.
Read the storyNBC 15 NewsMay 30, 2025
Less talk, more listening at Daphne retreat to discourage youth violence
More than 30 at-risk young men from Mobile and Baldwin County took part in the GLOAT retreat in Daphne, built around listening to young people and conflict resolution.
Read the storyNBC 15 NewsJune 26, 2024
Group behind MOB Music Fest targets troubled youth with community involvement
The group behind MOB Music Fest kicks off the year's festival with a focus on young people, and the story catches DJ Rodski at Taylor Park mentoring kids and connecting them with mentors.
Read the storyNBC 15 NewsAugust 22, 2023
Mobile Boys and Girls Club branch to close next month, community concerned about resulting youth violence
With the Optimist Branch of the Boys and Girls Club set to close, community activist Rodney "DJ Rodski" Toomer speaks about what the loss of a place for children to grow means for the neighborhood.
Read the storyNBC 15 NewsJuly 10, 2018
Mobile youth mentor claims church took cash, violated lease agreement
Rodney "DJ Rodski" Toomer says he paid $900 for the deposit and the first month's rent at Greater Praise Deliverance Church in Prichard, and put work into the upstairs space, and then found the locks changed. The church denied his claims and said it was being made the fall guy for a failed ministry.
Read the story
On social
Clips from the community.
Clips of Rodney “DJ Rodski” Toomer’s community work, shared on Facebook and TikTok.
Alabamahiphopradio on Facebook
DJ Rodski “The Mothership” conversation with the city council
Watch on FacebookAlabamahiphopradio on Facebook, June 14, 2022
DJ Rodski “The Mothership” landed at the City of Mobile
Watch on FacebookRodney Maurice Toomer on Facebook
Let’s talk about the racial disparity in Mobile, Alabama
Rodney’s own post opening the conversation on racial disparity in Mobile, and what a 2021 university study found.
Watch on Facebook
TikTok
TikTok, September 18, 2025
SB 143 Alabama: 10 Pain Points for Young Black Teens
Rodney walks through the ten pain points SB 143 raises for young Black teens in Alabama, from expanded gang labeling to more teens tried as adults.
Watch on TikTokTikTok, July 28, 2025
Alabama Music Awards: Legend and Honor Awards
At the Bessemer Civic Center, thanking Zeus, the Alabama Music Awards and his family for the Legend and Honor Awards at the 11th Annual Alabama Music Awards.
Watch on TikTokTikTok, October 14, 2025
Part 1: We Are at War for the Lives of Our Children
Rodney’s account of speaking at the Mobile City Council that day, Councilman Cory Penn’s advocacy for the people, and his warning that without vigilance as a community a whole generation of young people will end up locked up at the new facility in Elmore County.
Watch on TikTokTikTok, October 14, 2025
Part 2: Addressing the City Council on the Youth Agenda
Rodney’s account of addressing the Mobile City Council, presenting the Youth Agenda for 2026-27 to the newly appointed Mayor, and Councilman Cory Penn’s advocacy for the community.
Watch on TikTokTikTok, October 14, 2025
Part 3: Our Children Have Nothing in Our Communities
Rodney on what children in these neighborhoods are missing, and the experience he speaks from at Taylor Park and Strickland.
Watch on TikTok
These clips live on Facebook and TikTok, so each one opens there rather than playing on this page.
The coverage is a record. The work keeps going.
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