….just another murder in my little piece of heaven.

At 2:30 AM yesterday a 22-year-old locally known rap artist, Bryan A. Couch, was shot and killed during a robbery attempt that went very bad. It happened about 6 blocks from my house.

Mr. Couch did not have a police record. Apparently, Mr. Couch attempted to run away from the two assailants who shot him twice in the back. He was rushed to a local hospital and later died.

Last year, 89 homicides were reported in Cincinnati, the highest number ever recorded since the Cincinnati Police Dept has maintained annual statistics.

Guns and gun violence are destroying a generation of young African Americans in Cincinnati and in other urban areas in the USA. As John Edwards talked about the two Americas-those who have jobs, health care and a future and those who live at the margins with no health care, nominal employment and very limited education and skills. I suggest that there is a third America comprised of young people that have been thrown away by their families, the criminal justice system and our schools. This third group is disproportionately comprised of young men of color who are disconnected from our mainstream culture. Their support systems include gang membership, street codes, and territoriality. Their world is very narrowly defined in designated inner city neighborhoods where they struggle to survive through petty crime, drug dealing and hustling. It is a harsh, violent world where most conflicts are resolved with guns.

I am sure there are many sociologists and criminal justice experts who can provide some insights into how this violent street culture has emerged. They may be able to point to some of the root causes. Most city police can describe the consequences of this culture everyday as they send more body bags to the morgue. As doctors at hospitals try valiantly to treat the wounded, it seems to go on in an unrelenting manner. Almost everyday, some young person is shot intentionally or is caught in crossfire. Thankfully, most are only wounded. Sadly, some end up dead like Mr. Couch.

The carnage goes on at such a pace we no longer pay attention. Frankly, it only receives a brief mention by the local media. The future of our 401Ks and the volatility of stock market is far more pressing. The ongoing news from Iraq overshadows other depressing news.

And if we did pay attention, most of us, regardless of how well meaning, just don’t know what to do or how to respond. This violent urban world seems alien and dangerous. The rules are unclear. The faces and the locations blur together.

I contend that many of these young people are the after thoughts of the crack epidemic that overwhelmed many cities in the mid 80s. Many are the children of crack addicts that grew up in foster homes, with various relatives or on the streets with their parents. They lived in fractured violent places ignored and unloved. They are the throwaways with felony records, limited skills, and many psychological scars. Crime becomes a way of life. Incarceration is not a deterrent. Other families have been there and it becomes a right of passage. For some, incarceration probably provides the most structure and stability they ever have had in their lives. Once out of jail, choices and options are very limited. The cycle starts all over again.

I acknowledge that I may be oversimplifying the complexity of the problem. Institutional racism, the changing economics of our country, and divestment in our urban centers all contribute to the problem.

Unfortunately, I walk my dog or drive by the places where these young people are murdered. I see the remnants of the police yellow tape, the wilted flowers, or the gang markings as mementos. I cannot ignore it. It eats at me. It makes me sad. I extend my deepest sympathies to Mr. Couch’s family. What can I do? What can we all do? These are OUR children killed in the prime of their lives.

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.