“Too many families have been affected by wrongful death. This system and this country have tore apart my family and our families. You can’t have a black family and be together. How many more funerals do we have to go to? And how many more scenes of crime do we have to watch as they chalk out black figures on the concrete before we realize that the only way for us to get out of this predicament is to struggle to survive. If we want a change we have to fight for it, ‘aint’ nobody ‘goin’ give it to us. We just ‘goin’ have to take it!”.
These are Wise words from a wise man. I wish I could take credit but these are the words of Mr. Tupac Amaru Shakur, A revolutionary who fought for some of the issues we still face today. I have been through most major inner cities on the east coast and the mid-west and one theme remains common. Poverty. Poverty brings violence, violence incriminates, and criminals can’t prosper. In 2010 Chicago experienced 435 homicides. Which translates to 435 unnecessary funerals. Surprisingly this is a 54% decrease from the cities 1992 record breaking 943 murders. Nevertheless the same incidents continue to reoccur.
Just this weekend 22-year-old Aeyanuna Rogers, a Northern Illinois University (recent) graduate was shot in the head on the cities south side. Rogers was pronounced dead Tuesday, January,17, 2012. Oddly enough Rodgers caught in a cross fire as her and her best friend walked discussing their plans for the future. A 17-year-old boy was also shot in the thigh. Like most Homicides, no arrests were made which suggest a similar situation may arise perhaps on another side of town. This is just one intimate description of a great loss. Try describing 400 more. Its becoming clearer and clearer that if we want to prosper it starts with the people, not the government or political figures. The actions are more and more evident. The Illinois state budget plan, which is placed in Gov. Pat Quinn’s hands, proposes a $171 million slash in public school funding. This erases financial support for everything from teacher, and principle mentoring, to state writing tests for high school students. This will only worsen the already dire situation. We must speak up for our brothers and sisters from these troubled streets and provide outside support. Continue to enlighten and grow. For more information or to watch the news report for this incident click.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/news/local/ct-met-budget-education-20110601,0,2194958.story
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