Let the children lead
people and enabling their impact in a cause we must all embrace.
In my regular conversations with city agency heads, leaders of business, university and foundation presidents, it’s my constant request and challenge to them that we identify even more ways to support the youth of our city, many of whom are victims of violence, systemic neighborhood neglect and the economic disparity that limits their imaginations as well as their options. Wehave no more urgent task than to disrupt the cycle of hopelessness that inevitably leads many of our young people into the culture of crime and violence. A first important step is letting them know that their views matter, that despite their socio-economic disadvantages, their voices are equal and deserve to be heard.
Those of the extreme right never hesitate to brandish the Constitution at any hint of perceived encroachment on the freedoms it guarantees, typically, the right to bear arms. But of course, our Constitution and its precedent document — the Declaration of Independence — also promise other, more fundamental protections that include not only the freedom to speak out and to “petition for a governmental redress of grievances” but the unalienable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The many individuals who have fallen victim to gun violence have forever been denied their sacred rights as Americans. The very least we can do is to cheer on the youth of our city and nation as they now march for these victims — giving voice to grievances that cannot be eased, but which must finally be redressed by those with the power to do so.