When?
By: Jeff Beckham Jr.


When will they stop killing our innocent children? When will black men step up and take their place as kings and leaders in this country? When will we as African Americans stop waiting for this country to atone for the injustices we have been subjected to for over two hundred years? Personally, I’ve decided to take a stand and I ask you to join me.
Siretha White and Starkesia Reed are the names of two little girls that will forever be implanted in my heart. They are the names of two little girls that will never get married, go to college or get to experience motherhood. Siretha and Starkesia are two little girls that woke up on the mornings of March 11th and March 3rd fully expecting to live out the promise exemplified by their lives. Those girls won’t have that opportunity to see tomorrow, next week, or next year. They won’t have the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness because that was all snatched from them due to gun violence in their community.
When I began writing, I thought about writing another letter calling for action from the police and local politicians. Then I began considering where the change needs to start and I looked in the mirror and found my answer. Blacks must begin to rely on self as they once did pre-integration. Blacks must stop looking for others to come in from the outside and fix the problems within our own culture. There is no doubt that the government we fund and country we live in have systemic oppressions targeted at keeping African Americans in a permanent underclass, but if things haven’t changed thus far, we can ill afford to wait on change to occur. In the 1880’s blacks owned .5% percent of all the wealth in the United States (Lee Jenkins, Taking Care of Business: Establishing a Financial Legacy for Your Family, 2001). Despite many millionaires in the NBA, the mass fortunes of Oprah Winfrey, and wealth of Robert Johnson that number hasn’t changed in 2006. So what are we waiting on? It is time for the people reading this to stand up and take back our communities and neighborhoods. We can start at home with the children in our family. I call you to be mentors, big brothers, and big sisters to those children in our immediate and extended families that may not have a positive influence in their lives. We must not allow BET to raise our kids any longer. Young women are more than gold-diggers and prostitutes and young men need to know that they can do more than hustle and be gangsters (I do wish they would stop awarding Oscars for portraying these in movies.. but that’s a separate issue), but who will tell them these things? Young people need us. Black youth need young black professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, and construction workers to show them they can be more. They need to see us interact and innovate right now. Close your eyes and imagine the change that could occur if we work together.

Siretha and Starkesia didn’t die in vain. Their lives are the catalyst for at least one young black man to be an agent of change in his family and community. I’m going to start with the young people in my family. Will you join me?