The program seeks volunteers of all races, but especially African Americans, to attend an Oct. 21 gathering at the Liacouras Center at Temple University, and volunteer to take a stand against violence.
Johnson, who over the years has said that policing alone will not ease the tide of homicides, said he had met with the entertainment promoter Charles "Charlie Mack" Alston, the music mogul Kenny Gamble, and the radio personality E. Steven Collins of TV/Radio One in recent months on ways to combat violence.
"We need a holistic approach, and this initiative fits right in along those lines," Johnson said in a statement distributed at the gathering.
Collins said Alston came up with idea to put men on the street to help deter violence.
Johnson said the men would receive conflict-resolution and mental-health training before they are sent into the community.
"We are not going out to harass anyone, we are not going out to confront anyone," Johnson said.
"We are attempting today to enlist the support of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, every male in this city, to step forward," said Collins. "Our objective is to call to action 10,000 men to work in a proactive manner to deter unwanted and illegal behavior that is killing people in our community."
Organizers asked that anyone interested in joining the effort preregister at www.10000menphilly.com.
The gathering included several religious leaders, including Minister Rodney Muhammad, leader of Muhammad's Mosque No. 12, and the Rev. Robert Shine, former president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity.
Muhammad said the idea of enlisting 10,000 men invoked "the spirit of the Million Man March" in Washington in 1995. He said it was important that the focus be on men because most of the violence involves males.
"If the heart is what we are and the hand is what we do, we need to change how people see themselves," Muhammad said.
