We are beyond angry, passionate editorials about the murder of our youth.
We are beyond the ambulance chasing, past the reactionary moves that only result in more ambulance chasing and reactionary moves.
The murder of Derrion Albert was so egregious, so flagrant and so disgusting that most on the AHH staff were speechless and sorrowful. All of us have had our bouts with violence, from different races – not just Black. Yet, this was particularly disturbing.
A young honor roll student headed home from school and unknowingly gets caught in the crossfire of a daytime gang fight. One gang beats him down with huge objects like 2-by-4 poles and then facets from the other gang stomp his head as he lay unconscious. When it was all done, Derrion Albert was dead in the streets of Chicago.
Sadly, Derrion is just one case that was caught on camera. He was just one death in what seems like an endless number of senseless tragedies.
There is another side. Most people hold the killers in contempt, as they should, but we should be reminded that these young gang bangers are a product of America. They weren’t shipped in from some other country and dropped into Chicago, U.S.A. to wreak havoc on the innocents of the country. They were made HERE.
Now is the time for the community to exact real sustained change and action towards swaying the tide of violence that plague our communities, which are disproportionately Black and Brown. There are wars abroad and there are wars home. We need more soldier dispatched into our own streets.
We are asking the AllHipHop Community to collectively brain storm on ways that we can help curb violence. One method that AHH has actively adopted is mentorship and this is one solution we encourage. If you are an elder or a more mature young person, please take another under your wing. Teach them a skill, guide them through life to avoid some of the pitfalls that face all of us. This is merely one option, but there are so many others.
Please, offer some solutions that can ripple on to help create a better future for this generation and those to come.
