A student shot to death in Chicago. A student shot in the neck in Atlanta. What is happening and can we stop it?
Hadiya Pendleton (From AP)
With the terrible news that a Price Middle School student was shot today in Atlanta by a classmate, I thought I would share Chicago Teachers Union President and National Board chemistry teacher Karen GJ Lewis’ statement about a shooting in Chicago Tuesday in which a high school student died.
King College Prep student Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. while walking through a Chicago park with a dozen classmates. The teens had been dismissed early from their high school classes after finishing their finals. The group had dashed under a canopy in the park when it began to rain. In an apparent case of mistaken identity, a gunman running through the park opened fire on the high school group, killing Hadiya and injuring two other students
A member of her school’s majorette team, Hadiya had just returned from Washington after performing at an inaugural event.
(The official statement from APS on the shooting here Thursday: Around 1:50 p.m. today, Atlanta Police responded to reports of a person shot at Price Middle School at 1670 Benjamin Weldon Bickers Drive in southeast Atlanta. On arrival, officers discovered a student had been shot outside of the building. The student was transported in stable condition to Grady Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back of his neck. He was alert, conscious and breathing on transport. Family members have told authorities he may be released as soon as tonight. A suspect, tentatively identified as a fellow student, was immediately apprehended by a school resource officer – an off-duty Atlanta Police officer – and taken into custody. A weapon, a small caliber handgun, was recovered at the scene. Charges against the shooter are pending. A school employee suffered minor injuries immediately following the shooting, though she was not wounded by gunfire. No other students were injured as a result of the incident. Identities of the victim and shooter will not be released due to their status as juveniles. The incident, including the motive, is under investigation by the Atlanta Police Department. Preliminarily, it appears the incident was the result of a previous disagreement between the juveniles involved.)
Here is Lewis’ statement on Hadiya’s murder:
“This has been a trying week for our brothers and sisters in Chicago schools and all of us at the Chicago Teachers Union. We had these same feelings after losing Heaven Sutton, Aliyah Shell, Tyquan Tyler, Nazia Banks and the other nearly 60 children under the age of 17 who were senselessly cut down by violence last year.
“We have much pain in our hearts, but the most sorrow comes in the fact that unless something is done right now by all of us who have some influence in these young lives, this is pain that we are sure to feel again.
“I spent much of yesterday morning visiting with students, teachers and administrators at King College Prep, the school Hadiya Pendleton attended before her young and innocent life was taken Tuesday afternoon. The King community is, to put it simply, devastated. Hadiya was 15 years old and a smart, bright girl—a drum majorette and a Latin student—with no limit to what she could have achieved in the future. To those who loved her, she was a daughter, a sister and a friend.
“As I spoke to teachers at King, each of them had their own way of reflecting and reacting to this tragedy, but they all viewed this incident through the lens of, “What can we do that’s best for the children? How can we protect our kids?” Hadiya wasn’t skipping school, nor was she in a gang. This is finals week at King, which is why she was out of school so early that day. She went to the park with some friends. That’s what kids do.
“The prevalence of violence on our streets is starting to reduce the wonderful qualities that kids like Hadiya possess—qualities we all want in our children—to homicide statistics. As an educator, I empathize with the teachers for whom the aftermaths of these incidents are grave daily realities. We’re living in a society that’s completely out of kilter. Our children feel disrespected and their outsized response is violence. They’re given no methodology for learning how to cope with their anger.
“Our city can no longer ignore its duty to protect our children. This is a refrain that echoes each time a child is shot down, but at some point, the status quo and the violence must end. I’m tired of hearing the narrative that says parents don’t care about their children. The combination of poverty and violence is a dual punishment for us all. But what about the working poor who have little time to watch over their children because they spend 12-16 hour days providing for their families? Some of their children are among those who feel unsafe and angry at society for not keeping them safe. So they lash out. Again, that’s what kids do.
“In our neighborhoods, we suffer from the scars of violence and not being able to ask people for help when we need it. This creates disconnect between communities and solutions. We must stop propagating a war on drugs. It’s been an abject failure and has created many ancillary and unintended consequences. Prosecuting ‘offenders’ in the war on drugs only has made the situation worse.
“We also need to stop adhering to the theory that if you go work hard and do for self then everything will be fine. This hasn’t proven to be true. We must establish a widespread concept of respect in our young people—ways to earn it, negotiate it and positively deal with and learn from its absence. We need a second war on poverty in our country, and job creators need to bring employment to our low-income, impoverished communities. Jobs give life meaning.
“Children need productivity, because productivity is what a mentally and physically healthy child will crave. I look at regions that have succeeded in reducing violence against children as models, such as Venezuela and its classical music education enterprise, El Sistema. We must guide our children in channeling all of their anger and hostility into something positive, train educators to help parents be successful at what they do and reclaim schools as the anchors of our communities.
“We all need to be part of these solutions. The union works with most—if not all—of the schoolchildren in Chicago every day, and we know that agencies of influence must honestly engage in dialogue with principals, teachers and paraprofessionals and school-related personnel members in their schools to gather an idea of what needs to be done to combat violence within building walls and on the street. We are not only experiencing the loss of young lives, but also widespread trauma among family, friends and communities. Clinicians, and in particular social workers, counselors, psychologists, and nurses, are often left out of discussions despite having the expertise on the aftermath of these tragedies. All too often, there is a one-day ‘grief counseling’ event when students and staff are at the height of shock, but the real need for wrap-around services and grief therapy occurs weeks and months after the event.
“Our members and members of the community are the eyes and ears these agencies should be depending on, in addition to engaging students to learn what their personal fears are regarding safety, bullying and gang recruitment and retaliation. This is the same concept applied to neighborhood watch—everyone’s fight, everyone’s victory.
“It is imperative that we continue to explore and work together to see how we might make a difference in our city, where there are an alleged 164,000 gang members infiltrating our neighborhoods and streets. We welcome a call from CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy to solicit the input and assistance of our members, because Hadiya is more than a statistic to us. She is family, she is innocence lost, and while we are not foolish enough to think she will be the last member of our family to perish, we will continue our efforts to fight for the more than 400,000 students in CPS so they have the opportunity to learn and grow up as leaders—and protectors—of future generations.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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133 comments Add your comment
seabeau
February 1st, 2013
5:22 am
I don’t believe that in the State of Ga. that either I or my insurance conpany are liable if my car is stolen or otherwise used without my permission!
agent
February 1st, 2013
5:58 am
Maureen,
Nice of you to point out a few examples of an evil white man killing someone. If you look at all the homicides in this country, I’m willing to bet the ones committing them lean heavily toward one demographic and not the evil white man.
Typical Obama Voter
February 1st, 2013
6:08 am
Always blame the white man … it is always their fault.
Ignore the facts. Find a few cases of white males acting nuts and blame them for the downfall of society.
Beam
February 1st, 2013
6:20 am
It starts with the parents & ends with the parents. And if they don’t get it they should not be having kids in the first place.
catlady
February 1st, 2013
6:50 am
My suggestion: If you shoot someone, after you are found guilty, it is made impossible for you to enjoy intimate relations again. Men, especially, would not want to lose that. Jail most of them don’t care about. It is free food and lodging, and more “respect.” But you can’t get that respect if you are a eunuch, and everyone knows it!
HS Math Teacher
February 1st, 2013
7:00 am
If you look at our government, and how it has underwritten irresponsibility through the over-reaching social programs of the mid-sixties, permissive parents who just allow their kids to talk back to them, and roam the streets at night, parents who set a bad example every day of their lives, how we allow civil liberties and non-censureship of “art” to reign supreme, which allows the entertainment industry a free pass to produce all kinds of sick, perverted, manure that pollutes our kids’ minds….
Even the good, “helicopter parents” are producing kids who think that they’re superior to everyone else. A lot of them end up spoiled, hateful little sh_ts.
Oh well….the genie is out of the bottle, and we’ll never get him back in again.
DeborahinAthens
February 1st, 2013
7:05 am
We cut funding to every program that helps kids 0 to Kindergarten. Sometimes, and, I’m sorry but it is a fact, the only “normal” inculturation these kids get is in a pre-school program and school. This culture, and again, it is a fact, made up mostly of blacks, glorifies gangs, violence, and denigrates education, the arts, etc. To listen to these AH thugs makes you want to vomit! They kill for $300 sneakers! They beat to death one of their own, a smart, successful HS student, because one of the AHs tells his fellow thugs that he’s going to beat the h€££ out of the next person that comes by. No reason. He just says he’s going to do it and the little thug gang beats a boy to death. These people are beyond redemption. If we could keep the funding for the programs that will get the young children out of the house with the single mom, brood mare that has no respect for her body and pushes out child after child with absolutely no intention of raising those hopeless kids, this is never going to stop. Educate the young kids about how respect is earned and how to earn it, teach them–little girls and little boys– about birth control, show them that there is another way to live, and maybe in a generation or two we can fix this problem. But until the black leaders stop mouthing off about everything except what the real problem is, nothing will be fixed. These teen gang/thugs think that, because they are black, they are entitled to rape, steal, kill, maim, shoot, beat to death anyone they feel like. And for us to keep ignoring this issue because it is not politically correct is counter productive.
Private Citizen
February 1st, 2013
7:08 am
What makes a thug? Video showing conditioning little urban kids receive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ2M_noITms
SouthernGent
February 1st, 2013
7:26 am
Maureen, your liberalism nonsense non-logic does not fly. You start the conversation with an article about shootings in Chicago and Atlanta. A vast majority of those are at the hands of thugs. Why do we have thugs, because liberals like you supported LBJ’s great society, which through government hands out has single handedly destroyed the family unit among the poor. Dad can’t stay, because he can’t make as much money as our stupid government will give. The product of these non-family homes look to gangs for identity and encouragement. Gangs use violence to gain control, extort money and rob. This is where the vast majority of gun crimes from from. Old crazy men, while terrible, are a drop in the bucket.
I dare you to cite to anything that empirically shows that gun control leads to less violent crime. It is a stupid notion by stupid people who wish to spout stupid things to answer complex problems and who wish to deflect from the true issue. The destruction of a culture by insidious progressive who enslave people with other people’s money.
Private Citizen
February 1st, 2013
7:28 am
Hey Bootney, if I may return the favor of something you once pointed out, don’t react to being trolled. Good to see you say something about cause and effect of white liberal, projected “white guilt” and all of that. There is a whole industry called “identity politics” and people have careers and salaries based on it. I told myself if I ever saw a former university of mine again promote a conference about “white privilege” I would have it investigated as racism and do the followup and require it in writing. Yes, these are a lot of real comfortable whitey liberals who like to treat urban folk as “pet people.” Those of us who are urban know better and demand something a little more real, like examining real conditions and cause and effect, not abstract casting of bait net.
Private Citizen
February 1st, 2013
7:31 am
Hey Bootney, if I may return the favor of something you once pointed out, don’t react to being trolled.
(this is partially a re-post, as I am trying to figure some of the auto-moderating of this site software)
Michelle-Middle School
February 1st, 2013
7:31 am
Today’s youth have been lost. The sense of entitlement has driven a society of young people who do not know the value of working for what they want. They expect everything to be given to them. The result of this is that there are haves and have nots in the world today. Many of the have nots just decide to take what they want. They decide to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences. Where is the problem? The problem lies in the parents and the society influencing, or not influencing them. I was taught from day one that I deserved nothing. I was taught the value of money. I was taught the value of life. I was taught that it was wrong to harm any human or living thing. These are some of my most basic values. Many parents today do not teach these values. Until they do, we are in trouble in America. We are headed to the point where the “Lost Generation” will take over. Heaven help us all. There are too many bad parents. There are too many single working mothers. There are too many absent parent, either one or both. There are too many missing fathers. The real result is too many youth with absolutely no values that respect life and personal property.
old teach
February 1st, 2013
8:27 am
It seems that we are talking about two different sides of the same coin here: the [may be gang related, mostly minority]inner-city type of murders, and the random mentally unstable [mostly white] murders. To address the first type, we need 1-more law enforcement (as New York has done and Chicago has not); 2-more police presence in the high-crime areas; 3-less access to guns; 4-more education in the areas of parenting roles/violence/sex/mandatory pre-k and k, and 5-a call to the communities and churches to stand up and speak out against the present culture. To address the second type, we need to 1-keep guns out of the hands of mentally unstable persons; 2-less access to guns by kids and unstable persons; and 3-more acceptance of and treatment for mental issues.
Certainly, the breakdown of the nuclear family has contributed mightily to the problems we face as a society today. I feel that this breakdown has made kids more susceptible to the effects of gangs and violence as we see in the media. The warp speed internet news coverage and social media make events go viral, which brings even more attention to violence. Our fascination with guns does not help, either.
Mountain Man
February 1st, 2013
8:48 am
Lest I appear to be a racist, Maureen – let me say I think if the guy surrenders in Alabama – he should be tried, convicted speedily, and put to death. The shooters of Gabby Giffords and the Dark Knight theatre (both white) should receive the death penalty. The Supreme court has done society a disservice by ruling that “mentally ill” persons cannot receive the death penalty. So what happens if they are judged competent and released from the hospital and commit another murder? What happens if they escape from prison and commit another murder?
It does bug me that the black community complains about violence in their neighborhoods, but then adopts a “no snitch” attitude and when blacks are accused of murder, works their tails off to get the least punishment for them as possible.
If murder rates in white communities ever approached the levels seen in South Atlanta, you would see a groundswell of indignation and support for higher police presence and stiffer penalties. Why do the blacks not care? Look at what happened in Savannah after the murder of a white debutante. Do blacks just not care about other blacks? Why are there not marches being organized to protest the lax treatment of black murderers who kill other blacks?
I Teach Writing
February 1st, 2013
9:54 am
@ TheGoldenRam — Thanks for posting a thoughtful, nuanced stance in the midst of a storm of reductive thinking.
bootney farnsworth
February 1st, 2013
10:24 am
its a funny thing: I’ve spend most of my life working in and with the black community. I’ve done trench work to earn the right to take a position which might be “offensive” because I actually give a damn about
blacks as individual people and want to see them succeed.
just like people of any other color.
my sin seems to be I care enough to speak bluntly.
if I only did like the white guilt liberal crowd and dealt in platitudes intended to keep blacks content in
“their place” I’d be a hero with them.
here’s a hint folks. its not news to the black community they have some major internal problems. they freaking KNOW already. denial and avoidance of tough issues helps nobody.
but the white liberal guilty crowd knows this, too.
mountain man
February 1st, 2013
11:41 am
“here’s a hint folks. its not news to the black community they have some major internal problems. they freaking KNOW already.”
So why do they work so hard to tear down the justice system that could render justice for THEM? Why argue for reduced sentences for burglars that rob THEM. Why argue against the death penalty for killers that are killing THEM. Why refuse to cooperate with black policemen who are trying to protect THEM. I just don’t understand it.
Joey
February 1st, 2013
1:24 pm
Man this is just awful, one thing the media is partially at fault for these copy cat incidents. Second yah sure some people want to guns and have the rule of law to back it up with but when you see things like this happen. my thinking is ban all the gun’s that can kill, however allow these other folks who want to defend them selves given a bad situation arises a weapon that can only STUN a HUMANBEING and not KILL THEM. I believe this is the only way to move away from all these tragic stories that have happened in the past.
MikeinATL
February 1st, 2013
2:17 pm
Joey, if you take the guns away, people will find another way. Ask yourself what would have happened in aurora or newtown if the killer had used a bomb instead. Incidentally the worst school killing in US history involved a bombing in Michigan in the 1920’s.
A person intent on doing harm will find a way to get it done.
Sigh
February 1st, 2013
4:34 pm
I’m an Obama voter who is generally liberal but this is totally on the people, not the the system or government. The first post is entirely correct: stupid kids raising stupid kids and people try to blame it on poverty. Give me a break. There are more than enough poor people who don’t turn their children into wannabe gangsters. This will continue forever unless these communities take responsibility for raising their kids. Everything else is a convenient excuse.
I WILL say that RE: Chicago’s strict guns law, I believe in pretty restrictive gun laws, but also respect that having a handgun or shotgun for protection is both a right and a smart way to deter criminals. The problem with Chicago’s rules is that people just bring in guns from states that have lax regulations so what you get is an enclave (Chicago) that disarms most legal residents but at the same time can’t restrict the flow of illegal weapons to criminals. In order for gun control to be effective (like in Britain, like in Australia) we need it to be a national effort. Universal background checks and limiting clip size to like 15 should be an easy thing to agree on: keep your assault rifles if you want.
Oh but that won’t fix Chicago.
Starik
February 1st, 2013
5:33 pm
According to the police the shooting – in Atlanta – was indeed gang related. The weapon was a Walther, a small, concealable semi-auto that shoots relatively low-powered ammunition. These things cost $600-800 new, so it;s likely the gun was stolen.
bootney farnsworth
February 1st, 2013
6:55 pm
may have been gang related…
imagine
bootney farnsworth
February 1st, 2013
7:43 pm
@ mountain man
this is an educated guess, based on discussions I’ve had with people over the years. to truly know, I suppose you’d have to ask one of the enablers.
basically, it seems to be three things with the common denominator of the enables being low information citizens
-1 they (inner city black folks who enable this behavior) don’t trust the larger society, including blacks who get out
-2 a learned response. like the grasshopper who doesn’t jump out of a glass because it doesn’t think it can
-3 nothing compelling them to change their behaviors
Private Citizen
February 1st, 2013
10:03 pm
If you want to fix urban crime, take the money out of illegal drug sales. It is really that simple. As long as a street market exists for drugs, there will be urban kids with hundreds of dollars in their pocket and shoot-em-up to go with it. Just like in Mexico. If they sold dope at the pharmacy, or government dispensary or whatever, someone needs to take responsibility to the problem that street drugs are only available via street merchants. There. I just fixed the problem.
donttakemygun
February 1st, 2013
10:10 pm
Student shot at Morehouse pickup basketball game – 2/1. I didnt know they let white folks go to Morehouse.
Man stabbed in Athens over a cigarette – 1/31. Man can only identify suspect by his street name. How many whiteys do you know with street names? We need to quickly convene Congress and the pathetic excuse for a President and outlaw knives and cigarettes.
bootney farnsworth
February 2nd, 2013
8:40 am
@ donttakemygun
if I had posted that, it would be in moderation from now until anyone cares about the Hawks
bootney farnsworth
February 2nd, 2013
9:32 am
@ maureen, and anyone else who might see this:
are you ever gonna let my posts which are even remotely out of your political line see the light of day? do us all the courtesey of letting me know, publically, so we can put an end to this foolishness.
just like I should able to confront my accuser- you- and demand proof of claims of racism, everyone else out there should know in so many words what happens if you dare cross the invisible alleged AJC line
while this is totally within our rights to censor this as you see fit, it is stunning to see how one sided and politically punitive this blog is becoming. this is an intellectual censorship mixed with a healthy dose of prior restraint. your perogative, but one you’d not stand for if imposed upon you.
this blog hovers on the edge of moving from discussion to bully pulpit/propaganda.
if you-the AJC- are not willing to have an honest, and occasionally contentious discussion on matters affected by race, you should either not go there at all or post very clearly what people can and can not say.
I will say yet again. if you will point out specifics on my alleged racist commentary, and do it in public forum, I will be glad to walk with you point by through them. if you can show where I have stated anything that all blacks are genetically and otherwise inferior due to their pigment, I will genuninely and openly apologise to this blogging community and withdraw from commentary.
note: I know the actual definition of racism, and do not acknowledge the political twisting of the term.
if, however, you can not meet this challenge, I would expect the same apology, agreeing to disagree, and an end to moderating or flat out deleting my posts.
if this helps, I think we’re both guilty of taunting each other, and for my part I apologise
I suppose it boils down to this: place for debate and discussion, or propaganda ministry.
Private Citizen
February 2nd, 2013
11:17 am
hey Bootney, that’s the new thing from big power, using testimony from an “anonymous expert” to discredit a person who is prohibited from questioning the “anonymous expert.” People are saying the USA is not a plutocracy, whatever that means. Seen this commentary several places. What does it mean?
“the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy. 2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules. 3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence”
Private Citizen
February 2nd, 2013
11:18 am
typo correction: “People are saying the USA is now a plutocracy, whatever that means.”
Pride and Joy
February 3rd, 2013
8:24 pm
What is happening? Get Schooled asks.
People who have guns intend to use them. That’s what they are made to do — shoot people. That’s why people buy them — to shoot someone.
What can we do to stop it?
Outlaw guns.
Just Sayin
February 4th, 2013
1:05 pm
I have gotten to the point where I just don’t want to read the comments section anymore. I used to love to read how others think and feel about a tpoic. Now I can barely stomach them. They mostly devolve into a few people stating their opinions over and over again, a forum for people to put down another race, or a political soap box rant. It’s just sad. A lot of posters make good points, but they rant so much that they have lost credibility. That’s why people call them racist or judgmental. My god some of the posters on here go on like they have the best lives in the world and that if the world would only “listen to me” or “do as I do” things would be fine. Just because you are stating what you feel is the truth, doesn’t mean that is isn’t racist or hurtful. The fact that you bring it up constantly shows where you stand. Don’t lie to yourself.
Ole Guy
February 4th, 2013
5:25 pm
What’s changed in kids’ lives over the years? Absolutely nothing…well, almost nothing. Did kids have no other pure thoughts, back in the “old days”, than to inflict some flavor of harm upon others? You better damn well believe it! So just exactly what has changed? DISCIPLINE AND CONSEQUENCE FOR ONES’ BEHAVIOR.
We can all talk about the issues, but when it comes down to actually taking the medicine, we all shrivel in contempt toward the OLE FASHIONED WAYS OF CONTROLLING KIDS’ BEHAVIORS; as I have so-often implored, there simply ain’t no other way. You can read stories, play games, and pray all you want, kids will only react to the world about in favorable manner when the alternative will surely result in extremely undesirable outcome. For (probably) the vast majority of kids, this translates to what has become known as “tough love”, which may run the gambit from complete restriction, whereupon their lives are limited to home and school, with no toys, tv, computers, phones, bagpipes, or any semblence of fun…to…a good smack on the six/a healthy good ole fashioned paddling.
At some point, the kid, with full knowledge that inappropriate behavior will surely result in “woe”, will stop and THINK, “Do I really want to do this”…it’s called DISCIPLINE, something which, unfortunately, remains entirely foreign in much of the adult world.
Try it, people…you might just be surprised with the outcome; at the same time, your kid just may start developing a sense discipline and respect for both himself and the world about…with all its blemishes.
kevin
February 5th, 2013
7:45 am
What is gone wrong with our schools that shootings has been done one right after another. There is a saying that those of us who make comments needs to also have some solutions. The second amendment is at the forefront; but also, abuse of the amendment gives way to make some recommendations on how and what to do when children and adults are losing their lives; even some bystanders. No child should be carrying a gun, nor have one in their possession. Those who are being bully or those who are being forced to do things with others needs to be seriously investigated. I do know that America is sending the wrong message to our children…and adults as well. Have we got so evil and nasty that we think guns are the answers…it look’s like America is returning to the “wild-west” ALL WE NEED NOW IS OUR HORSES AND A SHOW DOWN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL OF OUR CITIES. MAY THE FASTEST MAN WIN. AND BY THE WAY, WE ALL CAN LINE THE STREET TO SEE THESE GUN FIGHTS; BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IT IS COMING TOO!