The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School reignited the national debate over gun control. While the pundits exchange political jabs over tougher gun laws, I see gun violence continuing to reach deeper into the African-American community by adding more faces to the already long list of causalities.  Those causalities include the victim’s family, the community and even the perpetrator.

However, long after the media has exited the victim’s neighborhood, the wind has blown away the yellow police tape and the candlelight vigils have flickered away from memory, the victim’s family will carry the heartache of having to bury a loved one for the rest of their lives.  Then, an unmerciful fear of experiencing the loss of another family member to violence may grip the family.  But, while the victim and the victim’s family suffer the most obvious and a very personal loss, there are others who suffer along with them.

Another casualty is the victim’s community, which is left with a broken family, which leads to a broken village.  Long-term psychological problems take up residence, leaving people feeling terrorized and held hostage in their own neighborhoods. We have witnessed what happens when communities become too crumbled:  people with the means move away, businesses fail or move away, property values plummet and hopelessness sets in like the cold in a bitter winter.

The final and often forgotten casualty is the criminal, his/her family and community.  The criminal becomes separated from his or her family and community, which should be the epicenter of his or her support. 

Brother Curtis, a 48-year-old grandfather, laments over his daughter’s fights in high school.  “We have been in touch, but I am not able to be a part of her life.  She told me that she acts out in school because I am locked up.”
 
My old celly (cellmate) says his incarceration has affected his family, too.  “My cousin and I were tight. After my conviction, every one ridiculed her because of the crime I committed. Years have gone by and we have not communicated.”

Once in prison, what nurturing that was previously available disappears.  Instead of receiving the life, job and other skills in prison that are  needed to survive and thrive in the world outside the judicial system, many prisoners are only expected to obtain their GED.  

Sure, many prisons have voluntary self-help programs.  However, only the motivated respond.  For the less-motivated and those whose incarceration stole their motivation, the depression often brought on by prison conditions motivates them to feel discarded.  This very sadly too often leads to substance abuse and other destructive devices.

Yes, gun violence has captured the national and international headlines, sparked protests, provoked debates and forced us to examine the implications of our gun laws. Part of the debate on gun violence should be the “School to Prison Pipeline,” that is too prevalent in the African-American community and the lack of attention society gives to the root of violent criminal behavior.  However, it is my most ardent prayer that all the casualties of gun violence remain at the heart of the discussion so that all the shades of gun violence will be much lighter in the future.

Family and friends of the late Baba Kwame Ishangi are planning to celebrate his life in The Gambia.  “He was a pioneer in the introduction and retention of pan-African culture in the United States,” says his friend Adeyemi Bandele.  Ishangi was born in Philadelphia and based in New York before making Atlanta his base.  He managed the Ishangi Family Dancers and Drummers.

He helped established the Ishangi Kunda Arts Center in The Gambia where he died October 22, 2003.  The memorial trip is October 17 - October 28, 2013. For more information contact Adeyemi Bandele, 240-432-6081.

In the audience the night I saw DC7-The Roberto Clemente Story, Pedro Sierra was there.  Sierra is Afro-Cuban and played with the Indianapolis Clowns (1954) and the Detroit Stars (1955-1958) of the Negro League.  Sierra’s presence reinforced how much Afro-Americans overlook how connected we are with our Spanish-speaking cousins, which makes seeing the play about the Afro-Puerto Rican baseball player a great event that can bridge the knowledge and appreciation gap.

Though Clemente’s life was admirable - -  his accomplishments doesn’t seem on par with that of the likes of Jackie Robinson.  However, the use of both Spanish and English to tell his story was a creative victory.

Clemente, however, had his firsts including the first Hispanic to:  Win a World Series as a starter (1960), receive an MVP award (1966) and receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).  Clemente is probably most remembered for his love of his/our people, he died in a plane crash on his way to personally deliver relief to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

However, Clemente also helped finance the Black Panther’s Party’s Breakfast program.  And, the segment of the play showing Clemente’s love for Dr. King seemed out of place until I read after the play that Clemente had hosted Martin Luther King, Jr. on his farm in Puerto Rico - - somehow that story never seems to make it in the countless stories on King.

The play’s actors were also a festival of pan-African cooperation with Modesto Lacen, who convincingly played Clemente, hailing from Puerto Rico, Keren Lugo (wife) and Joseean Ortiz (brother) are also from Puerto Rico. Xiomara Rodriquez (mother) hails from the Dominican Republic and Miguel A. Vasquez Cartegena (father) is from Peru.

It was encouraging to the see the bits of African culture that English and Spanish speaking Blacks share, but I am sure there were some Hispanic culture nuances I missed.  One I did gather is the tradition of using both parents’ last names; therefore, sometimes in the play they will refer to him as Roberto Clemente Walker, with Walker being his mother’s last name.

The play motived me to learn more about Clemente and experience the sting of having an Anglo-African-American bias. As one rogue cop said in the performance, “A N is a N, no matter what language he speaks.” The experience of Black life from a Spanish-speaker's perspective made the play worthwhile, the singing, dancing and music made the play even more memorable.

Some people have not forgotten Katrina and its victims.  One of those groups, New Orleans and Back, is based at the Capitol Hill Campus of the César Chávez Public Charter School System in Washington, D.C. 

The group is based in art, but each year the students spend two weeks engaged in policy projects.  They spend their sophomore year engaged in a community action project which involves the rebuilding a post-Katrina New Orleans.

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