THIS STORY WAS ON CNN NEWS THIS MORNING AND AS THEY INTERVIEWED COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF GRIEVING PARENTS, I NOTICED THAT THE MAJORITY OF THEM DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH.

THIS IS HAPPENING ALL OVER AMERICA IN BIG CITIES TODAY.

Marchers take steps against youth violence

By Mary Owen
Tribune staff reporter

Published June 13, 2007

More than 500 people participated in a silent march through the streets of a South Side neighborhood Tuesday night to bring attention to the dozens of Chicago youths who have been victims of violence this year.

Young people carried 31 pine replicas of caskets, each topped with a black cross and flowers, through the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. The caskets, made by teenagers, represented the 31 Chicago Public Schools students who died this school year from violence.

There wasn't enough time to make a 32nd casket in memory of the latest victim, Roberto Duran, 14, who was shot and killed Monday night on the West Side.

"The kids who died were mostly from our neighborhood, and I know that that could have been me or someone from my family," said Marcus Franklin, 14, from Englewood who carried one of the caskets. "Hopefully, this will stop the violence in this neighborhood and help with gun laws."

The event was organized by members of Rev. Michael L. Pfleger's St. Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78th Pl. The activist priest has been an outspoken opponent of gang violence.

"We have to remember that these are 32 lives that are wiped out," Pfleger said. "We have to create an atmosphere where the loss of our children is not acceptable to any of us. Seeing children carrying caskets down the street will urge ... everybody from youth to adult [to] say, 'What can I do in my corner?' We hope that people will be moved. First, be outraged, and then moved to action."

Among the marchers were Mayor Richard Daley; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Rufus Williams, president of the Chicago Board of Education; City Treasurer Stephanie D. Neely; Marilyn Stewart, president of the Chicago Teachers Union; and Nation of Islam Minister Ishmael Muhammad. The leaders each talked about the need to involve the community in fighting violence and urging lawmakers to toughen gun laws.

There also were parents who lost their children to violence, including Ron Holt, whose 16-year-old son Blair Holt, a student at Julian High School, was shot and killed May 10 while riding a CTA bus on his way home.

Richard and Dorothy Dunn attended the event and held a framed picture of their foster son, Richard Chambers, 19, who was killed in April while he was walking home from the library.

"We hope this gets through to the young kids," Dorothy Dunn said. "They're destroying each other's lives."

The march ended in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1200 W. 77th St.

"I can actually visualize bodies in those coffins," tearful marcher Viveca Coleman said. "It's just unbelievable."

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mowen@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... alwest-hed