R.I.P. Derrion Albert

this sh*t is not a game! I work @ a school in Compton and sh*t like this can happen EVERY SINGLE DAY! this sh*t is not a game! it's so easy to say "Stop The Violence". but what most fail to realize is that a lot of the victims of situations like this are honestly put in a situation where they are simply FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES! i'm 22. and back when i was in high school, i was in these little school gangs. i understand kids fight just for the sake of fighting. but i also know first hand IT ALWAYS GETS OUT OF CONTROL. here i am; second year in California, fighting a legit street gang @ my very first homecoming game. that sh*t wasn't cute. as a matter of fact a young man that attends the school I work at in Compton was shot at on his way home two weeks ago. fortunately, he survived with 2 bullets in his right arm. and now has to learn to use his left arm because his right will never be the same. [...he's not even 18!] again. this sh*t is not a game! but, today, this same young man, who NEVER shows up to the after-school program i run, shows up about 15 mins after program starts out of breath. apparently while on his way home, he saw the guys who shot @ him and fearing for his life he ran back to school where he felt safe. absolutely f*cking ridiculous! these kids are scared to go home! there are so many more accounts like this i can tell you about the kids that attend this school in Compton. and as bad as it sounds, everyday i'm scared im going to hear that something similar to Derrion Albert happened to anyone of the young men i have doing push-ups for cuss words and use of the "N" word. THIS is why i chose to be in school to be a history professor. to change this pattern. teach these children. of all races. about THEIR history. all they have accomplished without even knowing it. so they can do more than fall into the lure of the streets. i'm trying my hardest to establish a sense of pride within these children so they can do more for themselves and their families; past, present, and future. but can they hear me through their own cries for help? this sh*t is not a game! my next post will be a letter i wrote last year for Black History Month.