One Mother Does All The Right Things, Today Her Son Is Still Dead

Too many stories like this one go unnoticed and yet say so much about the world we live in. The so called community leaders are nowhere to be found while these sad occurrences plague the neighborhoods of Chicago and cities all over America and the rest of the world for that matter.

I see many stories like this and wonder what Al and Jesse's criteria is exactly for when or when not to march on city hall in front of the glaring camera's lights demanding change and for people's heads to roll.

This sad story of continued black on black violence obviously doesn't meet it, whatever it is since this will be the first and last you hear of it I'm quite sure. Contrary to their promises in the Imus wake, the worst of the rappers are still rapping their death chorus', breeding thug life amongst the most impressionable of our inner city youngsters and Al and Jesse's continued silence is deafening.

So here's yet another city kid working hard against the odds, doing all the right things and going places in his life, apparently raised well by his family and what's their reward for all this good behavior? Not recording contracts, millions of dollars and adulation from peers and so called leaders, no it sadly is him now being dead and buried.

Those 2 powerful men and too many others have failed those people who need them most without a doubt as this happens way too often in our inner cities and even suburbs as well, and they're all just too busy doing television interviews for chasing down 72 year old broken down disc jockeys to notice the real problems around them I guess.

Grieving mom: My son might be alive if he had joined gang :

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :"The mother of a murdered Evanston Township High School football star Friday mourned a child who she said was taught to do the right thing, and called on other parents to do the same.

Kimberly Bell-Pickett, whose son Darryl Shannon Pickett, 17, was gunned down Thursday, said sometimes parents turn their backs and act like 'they don't see.'

'When somebody gets hurt like this, it hurts everybody,' the grieving mother said Friday. 'If it was somebody else's child, it would hurt me, too.'"

Bell-Pickett said her son had been raised well, observing that, ironically, if she had raised her son to be a "thug" and "gang-banger," he might be still alive today.

"He probably would have had a gun to shoot back," the mother said. "But I didn't raise him like that."

Evanston Police said they are still investigating the Thursday afternoon shooting about two blocks from the District 65 high school at Dodge and Church streets. Police said the youth was shot several times by another youth after an altercation.

According to witnesses, Darryl died defending his brother.

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