On Tuesday, November 9, James E. Lyons answered jeanne's e-mail with Jaime's original cry for help in facing this violence:

"THE STUDENT IS EXPRESSING THE VIEWS OF MILLIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS. IT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM FACING OUR NATION."

JIM LYONS

On Thursday, March2, 2000, Jaime wrote:

Jeanne,

I just looked at the site to see if this follow up letter was on there. I did not see it, but would like for it to be placed on the site, if at all possible. I also would appreciate if you could send me the links of the WSSA papers and violence and drug studies at Columbia.

Jaime

The letter:

There is a destiny that makes us all brothers; none goes his way alone. That, which we place into the lives of others, somehow comes back into our own!

Unknown

The world is mine, when I wake up
  

Erica Bodu

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Wednesday, November 10, 1999

Dear Jeanne,        

Thank you for granting me the opportunity to express myself. Just as you have said often, "First yell and get it out, then we can talk." I hope that this letter will bring into discourse the dilemma that as the president stated confronts our society. We as humans have choice just as do the young men of my community. That choice is the decision between right and wrong. No longer can we sit back and think that it is not our problem. No longer can we assume that these individuals problems can be solved on hour-long talk shows. No longer can we force ourselves to believe there is nothing that we can do. No longer can we think that the problems will solve themselves. My quest is to find viable solutions that bring about resolution to some of the problems that plague our urban communities. I want the letter that I wrote, which was filled with passion to fall on fertile ground, to insure that the blood of these young fallen soldiers was  not lost in vain, and because of their death we are arriving at a new state of consciousness.

What disturbs me the most are the children in these minority communities. Naihem Akbar states, "Minority children live heavy lives. A ceiling has been placed on their dreams by the counsels of despair (Drug dealers, Gang members, Individuals going nowhere fast) coming from elders whom experience has taught to expect little and to hope for even less." I believe that, on the other hand, if the elders understood their own experiences and the lessons from them, and shared with the youth the enthusiasm for and/or the possibilities of life along with the experiences of the negative, we could change. I believe that would change the direction our society is traveling. In place of giving our children what we received, let's give them what we wanted, that being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! The bottom line is a fair chance at success. It must never be forgotten that people can be conditioned in favor of the positive, just as they are conditioned in favor of the negative. This sort of enlightenment will place in the hands of our children some of the keys to unlock the doors to their hopes and dreams!

I was at the funeral of one of my dear friends the other day, and another childhood friend came to me obviously broken in spirit. He stated, "We all we got." I looked beyond his use of the English language. I saw beyond the emotions of the moment and thought for a second. I was attempting to qualify what was just said to me. I do not even believe he fully understood the validity of his statement, and how profound those simple words are. As an Afrikan-American male in this so often alienating, oppressive, uncaring, unkind society, propelled by the powers of unemployment and inflation, it is true, "We all we got." That cannot be reduced to exclude anyone!  I am only as strong as my neighbor is, and he is only as strong as I am. Until, humanity identifies and embraces this ideology that we must co-exist with each other or perish, the problems will continue to perpetuate themselves. Humanity, "We all we got!

In conclusion, I maintain the position that I must succeed for all the individuals that were robbed of their chance to live. One of my motivations to succeed is founded on the stolen legacies of stolen lives. I hold the burden of their unfulfilled dreams on my shoulders. I feel as though I am obligated to their memory to make a difference. So that their little brothers and their children will have better options than they did. I want to be that person that genuinely cares. Paul Lawrence Dunbar in one of his many poems states, "We wear the mask that lies and grins, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes."  The problem is that many do not know they are wearing a mask.

Jeanne, I want to challenge any and everyone to commit to making a difference in the lives of at least one young person. Also, to keep the discourses open so that we can use communication to navigate through our societal dilemmas. We have to make the choice between right and wrong!

Respectfully yours,
Jaime E. Shepherd