He Has A Name #DerrionAlbert: One Year Later

We come to you with a heavy heart today as we remember a young soul that was taking from this earth one year ago today. Young Derrion Albert, a Chicago honor student from Christian Fenger Academy High School, was the victim of a violent after school fight where things turned deadly and Derrion lost his life. Derrion’s death made national headlines and even made the Department of Justice take notice of the increasing youth violence that was plaguing, not only the Chicago streets, but the streets across America. 

On October 7, 2009 Department of Justice, Attorney General, Eric Holder held a press conference in Chicago two weeks after Derrions beating death and promised:

“We need to have a sustained national effort to address youth violence. We simply cannot stand for an epidemic of violence that robs our youth of their childhood and perpetuates a cycle in which today's victims become tomorrow's criminals,”

Sadly Mr. Holder you didn’t keep your promise, because a year since Derrion’s death more and more of our youth have lost their lives to senseless violence. Looking at the facts, in Chicago alone from 1/2/2010 to now, 284 homicides have occurred from gunshots, and out of those 284 of those homicides 101 were either 21 or under and overwhelmingly young people of color. These numbers are crazy and this is only Chicago, so can you imagine the numbers nationwide?

Since Derrion’s death we’ve informed our audience on many of the young people across our country who have died by the hands of violence. Today we remember that they have names.