but nobody will say it."
That is the sentiment hip-hop artist David Banner is professing in his newest single. The Mississippian addresses the recent, but not uncommon, violent deaths of none other than young black males. Banner specifically highlights the killing of Derrion Albert, the 16-year-old honor student who's assassination took place in broad daylight. Honestly Albert's story would have gone unnoticed - out of sight and out of mind - if it hadn't been for the video footage of his death. The same footage that scored multiple hits on YouTube and your local news circuit. And yet, the media forgot his story for the failure of hosting the Olympics. And I believe Obama has yet to address the issues in his hometown.
But the issue isn't just confined to Chicago. Days later the media storm continued to rain with the story of Kevin Miller, a Queens black honor student on his way to McDonald's; his mother's reward for finishing his homework. In the wake of trouble, he attempts to evade a fight, only to be struck by some punk's bullet. A suspect has yet to be found. Miller's family, like Albert's, struggles to finance an appropriate burial, Jackson and Sharpton have their PR parade, and the camera fades to black to focus on a family bent on gaining reality TV stardom.
Maybe the third time is the charm? How ironic.
Twenty-year-old Jasper Howard, a junior UConn star cornerback with a child on the way, escaped the dangers of his Miami neighborhood, only to be stabbed to death at a Homecoming party last weekend.
Now, do we have the public's attention? Do we have our own attention? Do we realize we can no longer blame "him" or "them?" Do we know we can no longer react? Can we see that Obama is not going to save us? (And he shouldn't have too.) Have we, as a people, ever relied on any other man to solve our problems; to secure our freedom; to teach our children; to love one another; to know black is beautiful; to know we are somebody?
Than why do we do it now. Something's wrong and we are the only ones that can fix it.
