Then the fact that this isn’t any ordinary urban city but the previous home of our nation’s President Barack Obama, his Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, and the Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan, it makes me wonder why hasn’t any of them spoken up and talked about this issue in the last 16 months. Barack Obama who campaigned for nearly 2 years spoke about responsibility when it came to parents raising their kids and absentee fathers on Father’s Day but didn’t once speak about the fact that kids in Chicago are dying at alarming rates compared to other urban cities. Barack Obama who went to nearly all 50 states while campaigning for the Presidency and he spoke on teacher responsibility, making college affordable and rebuilding our nation’s schools so they can be world classed, never mentioned once about the fact that the kids in Chicago are more safe in school than they are while on the streets.
Barack Obama’s Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan who was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools when a total of 508 Chicago school kids were shot from September 2007 through December 2008, according to data compiled by the Chicago school system and released to the Chicago Sun-Times. Duncan said to the news media in the last month or so that he is losing sleep over what is taking place to the kids in Detroit where Detroit Public Schools can’t count their finances properly and DPS has one of the highest dropout rates in the nation. Nonetheless, Duncan has not once spoke about the deadly violence that is taking place in Chicago to Chicago school kids. In fact while 508 Chicago school kids were shot from September 2007 through December 2008, it doesn’t include the recent numbers of 2009 where at least 10 kids have been shot since the New Year has begun.
This is a national tragedy that no one in the national media or on Capitol Hill wants to discuss this issue. Our youth are under attack in Chicago and the fact that in this school year alone 25 Chicago Public Schools children have been murdered. That number doesn’t include the total number of Chicago Public School children who have been shot this school year. The violence in Chicago is a part of the everyday life of Chicago’s children and the fact that Rahm Emmanuel has never once discussed this issue as passionately as he attacks Republicans makes me wonder, who in the Obama administration and which politician in D.C. that represents Chicago will make this a national tragedy that needs to be discussed as much as the other issues plaguing our nation.
Almost 32 children have been shot each month and while the world was so engaged with the Presidential election of Barack Obama, we were ignoring a major issue taking place in Obama’s backyard. While some people would blame the mayor of Chicago for this national tragedy being ignored, the reality is that no one is except from the blame. The citizens of Chicago are to blame and we the American people are to blame because we have not been monitoring this issue the way we should be monitoring it. So many of my friends from Chicago are too blame because for 2 years they were more concerned with arguing with me about why I should support Barack Obama while I was telling them why isn’t anyone discussing the issue of the number of school children being shot in Chicago practically every day.
While the Chicago Sun-Times says thankfully most of the kids who have been shot from September 2007 through December 2008 did not die, I say that is something to be thankful for but why can’t we be thankful for reducing the number of shootings to Chicago kids. That’s what we need to be thankful for. Where’s the passion and energy that so many Americans had for the Presidential election when it comes to the fact that the youth in Chicago are under attack as these words are put to paper. Where is the public outrage concerning the 508 kids who have been shot in 16 months like so many people are outraged over AIG bonuses? Our youth in Chicago are at risk of dying and where is the national tragedy concerning this. Where is the public outrage that nearly 32 children in Chicago are shot each month?
If many of you do not understand what I am saying than think about this for a moment. From September 2007 through December 2008, 508 youth have been shot. Now we all know that there are 365 days in a year and the month of November has 30 days while October and December has 31 days. Therefore from September 2007 through December 2008 represents nearly 457 days. So in 457 days, 508 Chicago kids have been shot which means one Chicago child is shot every day or 1.12 per day. Where’s the outrage in these numbers. Why hasn’t any national news media latched on this issue and used this is a populist outcry like they have done with the AIG bonuses or the Rihanna & Chris Brown situation which has gotten more people talking about domestic violence which occurs just as often as the number of youth being shot in Chicago.
The public is silent as another youth in Chicago is probably being shot as you read this article. When will someone champion this issue and get the public to recognize that there is a war on our youth in the streets in Chicago. If the numbers I have given you are not enough for you to understand what exactly is taking place to Chicago Public School students than think about this, in 130 schools, at least one student has been shot since September 2007. In 15 schools, at least 10 students have been shot and in 12 other schools, at least 5 students have been shot. While Chicago Public Schools say it is important to note that none of these children are shot in Chicago, I say it is important but the fact that more youth are being shot in Chicago while out of school is not something to be applauded by any one. The reality is that the school children who have been shot have been closer to their home than to his or her school which shows that the youth in Chicago are safer in school than out of school.
However no one in Chicago or anywhere in American wants to talk about extending school hours for our nation’s youth. In fact the Chicago Public Schools data shows that the median distance from where a child is shot to his or her home was 0.4 miles, while the median distance from a child’s school was 1.2 miles. Therefore this shows me that the school is just as much to blame as the police in the city because our youth can’t get from school to home without being shot, which is what we all should be outraged about. The physical damage done to many of the youth who have shot is truly awful and a tremendous burden but the psychological damage is what is more damaging for those who have been shot and for their friends who have seen their school buddies harmed by senseless violence. Many kids in the most violent neighborhoods of Chicago are paralyzed by fear of being shot and are fearful that another one of their classmates might be the next victim of the epidemic of school children violence. Chicago Public School kids are under attack and they need help.
Legislation alone can’t solve this epidemic and clearly no one is willing to use rhetoric to bring attention to this national tragedy that is plaguing Chicago youth. In fact while BET did a special on the epidemic of Chicago youth being shot and the Lou Dobbs show as well as a couple of CNN shows have discussed this issue, they still haven’t given it the type of national attention it truly deserves. The stories on the violence to CPS students have not been given its fair amount of attention like the Detroit mayoral scandal, the Illinois Governor scandal, and the Presidential election. Therefore it is now or never for Chicago kids to finally get the necessary help it needs to be safe when walking to and from school. The reality is that since September of 2008, 29 Chicago Public Schools kids have been murdered this school year alone which is more than what was shot for the entire 2007-2008 school year.
Then if you consider the fact that in December of 2008, 34 students were shot while just one shooting took place in December of 2007. The data shows that the violence to Chicago Public School kids has is getting worse by the day and as the years grow up. Although the 2008-2009 school year is not over yet, those who put the data together showcasing the fact that from September 2007 through December 2008, 508 kids have been shot in Chicago, they say the numbers for the same period from September 2008 to December 2009 could be worse if the proper resources and help isn’t given. It is clear that from 2007 to now, that more Chicago youth are dying each and every day and even more are being shot at an alarming rate like before in the city.
So when will the national media give this issue the type of attention it deserves and when will our nation’s politicians start discussing this issue as much as they discuss everything else that is none sense. Our youth in Chicago need our help and will we give them the type of help they need in order to get the national attention and resources it needs to deal with the violence that is plaguing their lives on a daily basis. When will we the American people save our youth and end this senseless war on their lives. We don’t need more gun legislation when we aren’t enforcing the current gun legislation we have on the books. We need more social workers and counselors in the schools who can give our youth the proper attention it needs to deal with the psychological effects of the violence our youth faces. We need police to start doing their job and protecting our youth when they are coming to and from school.
The war on our youth in Chicago is a national tragedy and if it isn’t properly addressed than our youth in Chicago will be at a greater risk the longer they don’t receive the type of resources and safety it needs. Where’s Chicago’s outcry regarding this issue? Who will protect the children of Chicago Public Schools when clearly for the last two years and counting no one has shown leadership to properly help the youth in Chicago the way they need help. Mayor Dailey, Arnie Duncan, Rahm Emmanuel, Jesse Jackson Jr., Jesse Jackson Sr., Pat Quinn, Barack Obama, Dick Durbin, Rod Blagojevich, Bobby Rush, Valerie Jarrett, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and all of Chicago’s other political officials as well as influential people who have ignored the issue of the violence that is plaguing Chicago Public School students. They are all to blame for their silence and their inability to be concerned with this issue as much as they have been concerned with other issues. Our youth in Chicago need saving not now but right now.
SAVE OUR CHICAGO YOUTH!
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