Yesterday, a young man from Chicago made world headlines. Not for his business acumen or athletic prowess. Derrion Albert was in the news because he was killed in the most public way, during a street fight on the South Side near Fenger High School. The world reacted because they watched his senseless murder. As the video, taped by a girl on her cell phone, made the rounds on the Internet, Albert became a subject of conversation on Twitter and today, while chatter has focused away from his name, others are asking that we #stoptheviolence.
The heartbreaking video of Derrion Albert's death has done a number of many of us here at ChicagoNow and is just the most recent example of a murder that changes Chicago. Some are calling for alternatives for teens, still wondering what really happened and pointing out that five other Chicago teens have died this week. FIVE. OTHER. TEENS. Even Nas has something to say about it.
I would hope, sincerely dream, that no more of Chicago's youth die in our streets, but unless we focus on the ills of our city, instead of chasing future glory, we'll have to live with the reality that the city that works, also kills. Garrard suggests it's probably time to get away from Chicago, as our Olympics delegation has done.
Filed under: Crime
Tags: Chicago, Derrion Albert, murder, Olympics
I was so appalled, and physically sickened by the brutal beating of Derrion Albert, another innocent CPS student. I will never become numb to this, these gut wrenching sickening vile attacks upon our innocent youths and those others who have become victims to street violence. I posted a comment on another blog in response to the vicious violent attack on yet another innocent student just trying to get from one point to another-- a victim of this ongoing out of control gang warfare who lost his life just for trying to get to where he needed to get to in these brutal dangerous streets. But for Chicago Public School Students this happen to them any time of day anywhere anyplace including their own homes.
All the marching and the screaming in the world is not going to eliminate these problems until the community stops accepting total blame for this epidemic and hold those responsible also who have idly stood by and allowed cries for help within the community with these social problems to go unanswered and to seep silently into the blood on the street. And that is our administration, the politicians and those who took vows to serve and protect ALL and not just their own.
When most people begin to understand that Chicago is a "Tale of Two Cities" then maybe some people will stop leaving comments that truly reflect that you still dont understand that this is a multi-faceted, multi-level complex problem with decades of roots that no one person or one thing is to blame, but that there is still however a culprit, an institution of racism in place for centuries that WAS the impetus for these problems and then the rest lies with all these other elements and parties responsible. No one is making excuses for anybody but lets just keep it real.
Two months ago Superintendent Jody Weiss came to one of our town hall meetings, I commend him for at least making an effort. He looked stunned at some of the things citizens were telling him that was going on in their neighborhoods and on their streets
and in CAPS meetings that they were fed up with and needed help. So dont think that EVERYBODY is just sitting around with their thumbs up their noses. But then he also got a chance to hear the despair in all of our voices describing how we've been pleading
for help for years with these problems and how they have only fallen on deaf ears. But now look at where we are NOW TODAY. You think these things just started and came about overnite? I personally think that the police department is hooked up in a lot of the crime that goes on in our neighborhoods all the way up to the administration and I have expressed this to them so lets not leave them out because I'm sorry it cannot exist unless someone allows it. We held nothing back at expressing some of these thoughts to Jody Weiss. But people guess what --for two months I've heard no shootings and not one gangbanger has been on a corner since Jody Weiss came to our meeting. They are not hanging around the school or school grounds or on the major street for the past few months. So what happened from seeing 15 years of mayhem outside my window to this silence? WHY DID IT STOP? Now does this mean that with the help of "THE PROPER AUTHORITIES' crime can be cleaned up somewhat or do you have a better answer as to why the madness has
suddenly stopped after he came. Please let me know if you do. And I hope that those of you reading this blog will log on to www.beforethetrigger.blogspot.com. These kids come from good areas and homes and face the same madness as lower income neighborhoods. Maybe it will shed some more light on some of the issues discussed
here.
I am currently in Eng 112 at Shaw University in N.C., my professor is David justice (djustice@shawu.edu). I have watch and walk by so many fights between children that I have lost count, but I couldn't bring myself to watch the beating of this child. There was one time I did stop the boys and once I got them to calm down, I ask the little boy where his mother was, and he pointed to her stand two feet away on her cell phone. I was so mad and I thought well if she don't care why should I...but that is where the problem is. Nobody cared to help Derrion they just watch like it was some action film, and it tears me up inside because that can easily be my son one day. We all need to care and show these kids that it is a better life, you just have to want it. These are our kids and our neighborhoods no body else should be held responsible for them besides us.