NY Daily News: Petition Urges President Obama to Visit Chicago in Wake of Hadiya Pendleton Murder
A new article in the New York Daily News delves deeper into the Black Youth Project’s petition to President Obama.
President Obama rightly went to Newtown to comfort the families who lost children in that horrific tragedy, and now it is time he come home to Chicago and comfort the over 500 families who have lost loved ones to gun violence in the past year.
It is time President Obama talked openly and honestly with the nation about all the factors that threaten the lives of inner-city youth
“These last couple of years are the worst I have ever seen,” Truss-Miller told the Daily News.
That’s why the Black Youth Project enlisted the help of Truss-Miller, a passionate community organizer who works for Affinity Community Services, a social justice organization.
“We know that President Obama cannot solve the issue of gun violence alone,” the Change.org petition reads. “However, he can call the nation to consciousness about the need for a response to this specific crisis that is affecting youth in cities like mine.”
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But it’s not just about gun control, Chicago activists say. Cathy Cohen, who co-founded the Black Youth Project in 2005, says that poverty and unemployment levels are too high and many blacks and other minorities are paying the price for not getting the education they need or deserve.
“The executive branch brings resources,” Cohen told the Daily News. “Funding for things like summer jobs, or mentorships for young people who are having difficulties in school. There are any number of initiatives that can come out of the White House that can deal with this issue.”
In response to Chicago’s gun violence crisis, The Black Youth Project started a petition, asking that President Obama make a speech addressing gun violence in the Windy City.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
