Chicago, where is your village?

Chicago honor student Derrion Albert was laid to rest on Saturday. More than a thousand mourners attended the service at the Greater Mount Hebron Baptist Church on the South Side of the city. The 16-year-old was struck in the head with a two-by-four, kicked and brutally beaten on his way home from school on September 24th. Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at Derrion's funeral and urged Chicago's youth to refrain from any further violence.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will travel to Chicago to speak with school officials, students and the community about the pervasive violence that has been plaguing the Chicago area for some time. Dozens of students have been victims of violence ending in their deaths. The Chicago Tribune has posted a photo gallery of some of the students.

I first heard of the problem with the rise in Chicago area minority student murders on CNN months ago. Like everyone else, I was deeply saddened to see the disturbing video footage of young Derrion Albert being viciously attacked. Amongst a myriad of other questions that raced through my head were these two: Where were the police at that moment? and Why didn't anyone step in to rescue this young man? Later, I wondered what was wrong with the students who carried out such an insidious attack. What angered them so much? What type of parents raise children like these?

In addition to those questions, I have a few more. Why were three of Chicago's most famous citizens (well, two are former citizens) traveling abroad to speak to the Olympic committee when their influence was needed more right at home on the South Side of Chicago. I think it's a good thing that President Obama is sending Mr. Holder and Mr. Duncan to Chicago in a few days but I fail to understand why he cannot give these students his much needed attention just as he did the Olympic committee. President Obama, if ever any part of the country could use a variation of your "Yes we can" speech, it's the students at Fenger High School... Yes, we can stop the violence. Yes, we can learn alternative, peaceful ways to solve our differences. Yes, we can co-exist even though we hail from different neighborhoods. Yes, we can find more constructive ways to express what we're feeling like in a positive rap song, a poem addressing our hopes and potentials, or a prayer for a brighter future. Yes, we can embrace and support each other. Yes, we can survive high school and become successful, upstanding, prosperous adults. Yes, we can!

Will the First Lady, Michelle Obama, spend time at this school speaking with these students? She has visited a school in Washington, DC. Of course, she is number two of the three famous Chicago citizens I mentioned earlier. Mrs. Obama, I believe these students are older than the group you spoke with in DC, but I also believe that your influence on them could be just as profound. They would probably love to hear you speak, shake your hand, receive a hug, or have a photo taken with you. Bringing a message of peace, hope, and security through the cessation of violence to the lives of these students is so much more important than any speech you delivered to the Olympic committee. Who better to deliver this speech to minority children than an African American woman who grew up in Chicago, thrived and excelled in school, became an ivy league educated attorney and now resides in the White House with her husband who runs the country? Well, perhaps there is someone.

Oprah, I watch your show often, though not daily. If you've ever presented a show on the violent and unnecessary deaths of students on Chicago's South Side, I missed it. This is happening in Harpo Studio's backyard. You are one of the most influential people in the world. How many times have you visited Fenger High School to encourage the students? Kudos to you for building a school in Africa! Could you possibly just adopt this one and help them through this infinitely distressing period? Do what you've done so many times before... assemble a team of experts to counsel, coach and empower. This time, let those being encouraged, uplifted and empowered be these children. Use your voice to rally the community and viewers to do whatever they can to help facilitate an end to the violence there. Call on some of your superstar friends to throw a benefit concert or auction some items to raise money to help heal whatever it is that ails Chicago's South Side youth.

It would be foolish of me to voice my dissatisfaction of Chicago's dream team without addressing the two most important groups of people at the core of the situation. Of course, that would be the parents and the students themselves.

As a parent, I know how difficult it is to raise a child, especially in this economic downturn. However, parents, you have to take an active role in the lives of your children. They did not ask to be born and they are not capable of raising themselves, no matter how much attitude they have at times. As in any relationship, communication is the key. Talk to your children every day, several times a day, so that you will know what's happening with them. Allow them to talk to you about the things that are important to them. Children know when you're not paying attention to them and they feel hurt by that. If you make your children feel important, no gang could use that old selling point of being their family to lure them into the gang culture. Hug your kids and tell them how much you love them and how proud you are of them. They will want to be successful to get another glimpse of the pride their parents have in them. If you are beating your children, even as a disciplinary measure, please stop. Find an alternative method to deal with your child when there is a problem. When your child makes a mistake or misbehaves do not respond with violence. Use that moment to teach him or her that violence is not the way to resolve a dispute. Be a parent instead of a tyrant. Also, this is not the time to try to be your child's friend. There will be plenty of time for that when they have made it to adulthood and are out on their own.

As for the students who are participating in these unspeakable acts, you have to take responsibility for your actions. You may think that you don't care and that you can handle the consequences, but there will be someone who's badder than you think you that you are once you're behind bars. Research the statistics on the likelihood that you will become the victim once the prison doors slam shut and you're a resident. Put yourself in Derrion Albert's place. Would you want to die such a horrible death for no reason other than you were on your way home from school? No one wants that for you. You should not want it for yourselves. Believe in yourselves. Respect yourselves. Love yourselves. You are worthy of a better life but you have to seek it out. You can start by leaving the violence behind. This young man's life meant something to his family and friends. The rest of the world never heard of him until his death. Now that we have learned a little about him, we want his death to mean even more. Let it be a turning point for you. Let it be a lesson for you. Let it be a light that leads you in a different direction. Let it lead you to peace, hope, love and most of all to a future.

We all have heard the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child." Chicago, where is your village? If you live in the vicinity and you can assist parents who need help with children who are headed down the wrong path, please volunteer your time and assistance. Step into the life of a child in need of positive guidance before the wrong type of influence becomes appealing and irresistible. Become a mentor. Start a homework group to keep the children agreeably occupied until their parents get home from work. If you are a writer, a poet, a musician, or an artist, teach an after school class and pass on your skills. You might inspire the next Toni Morrison, the next Maya Angelou or Nikki Giovanni, the next Mozart, or the next Picasso. Even if you simply give a child a skill that he or she can use in the future to make an honest, decent living, that's okay, too. By helping these children, you will be helping to restore the community at large. It's your village, Chicago. Isn't it worth saving? Look at the faces of the children who have been murdered before you answer that question. I believe that you will agree that the answer is most assuredly "Yes!"