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Steshawn Brisco is one of the men who will likely be charged in the shooting of Tanaja Stokes, an 8-year-old girl from the South Side of Chicago. Most shocking is that Brisco said he "didn't care" that there were children in the area, when he began firing, and that he "let the whole .40 clip go."
Tanaja's cousin was also injured in the shooting.
A second suspect is being sought by police. The person in question is allegedly a juvenile who is well-known throughout the community. "I am begging you, turn yourself in. End the circle of violence that hurts this great community," said Police Commander Keith Calloway.
The death of Tanaja Stokes is part of the continuous nightmare that refuses to wake us up as a community. The cycle of violence in Chicago is out of control, and other cities across America are faced with similar tragedies on a regular basis. The cold reaction of the alleged perpetrator in this crime adds a more disturbing element to this already alarming situation.
The reality is that children like Tanaja Stokes and Steshawn Brisco need our help. On one hand, we are confronted with the obvious mandate of protecting our young children from those who've become determined to destroy the stability of our neighborhoods.
On the other hand, we must realize that homicidal monsters are not created overnight. There was likely a time when Steshawn was every bit as innocent as Tanaja, yet our neglect of this young man allowed the world to corrupt and desensitize him. The only way a man can typically distribute such pain without remorse is if the man is already familiar with unimaginable pain himself. This doesn't let him off the hook, but it says that we've all got to chip in and mentor our kids or else.
I wrote recently about National Cares, a program created by Susan Taylor and other black celebrities who seem to genuinely care about mentoring our youth. The program pushes forth a national challenge to all of black America to find a way to protect our kids and teach them right from wrong.
You don't have to give birth to a child in order to be a parent, and you don't have to be a full-time parent in order to have an impact. In many cases, one phone call per week, a few kind words every now and then or a trip to the movies is all that our kids need in order to be impacted by our actions. I am begging and pleading with everyone reading this article to commit themselves to spending 2 – 4 hours per week deliberately giving a positive message to some child in your community. It might save the life of the next Tanaja Stokes.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (45)
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By: blackbear72 on 8/18/2010 1:15AM
On the side of this article is a video of T.I., you cant have it both ways, complain about violence and then make a hero of someone who glorifies violence. This guy and those like him are the main reason why these kids think it is OK to act in a violent and anti social way. Stop those like T.I. and you will stop a lot of the violence.
Also, when you give your child a name like Steshawn, you are almost guaranteeing him a troubled life. Enough with the crazy names, notice how many of these names show up on the nightly news, it is never for a good reason, always a crime or maybe a NBA player, sometimes BOTH.
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By: dvine on 8/18/2010 11:49AM
what the H does crazy names have 2 do w/anything.. if his name was Mark, would that have been better?! the point is that these thugs need to be caught.. ppl need to say something if they see something and stop harboring these criminals.. call the tip line anonymously if they have to.. the area is not going to get better until the residents take a stand..
it's sad that the hardworking ppl and children are victims of these thugs and their careless acts..
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By: Unknown on 8/18/2010 12:17PM
It is not about the rappers it is about the children themselves who do not care abou their potential victims when they pull the trigger.
If you have no compassion about the young girl dying and her cousin being shot then you are just as sick as the person who did fire the gun.
Also, the name of the gunman does not make him a criminal it is what he or she chooses to do with their lives that makes them a criminal.
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By: blackbear72 on 8/18/2010 11:49PM
Devine, stop fooling yourself, give a child a name like Steshawn and you put him at a huge disadvantage in life. A name like that tells you all you need to know about how is was raised. Here is the basic profile, under 20 y/o unwed mother, absent father, if the father is even known, poor intercity resident, very little to no guidance or discipline, most likely very poorly educated. All things being the same, who will be chosen first for employment, college, etc, Mark or Steshawn? Steshawns application will be thrown out right after his name is read, whether that is fair or not, it is the truth. What business would want a employee named Steshawn? Look where the name got this kid. He was put on a path to prison the second he was named.
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By: zhengka2b on 8/19/2010 10:02AM
The reality is that children like Tanaja Stokes and Steshawn Brisco need our help. On one hand, we are confronted with the obvious mandate of protecting our young children from those who've become determined to destroy the stability of our neighborhoods.My boyfriend thinks the same with me. He is eight years older than me, lol. We met online at agelessmat e.c om a nice and free place for younger women and older men, or older women and younger men, to interact with each other. Maybe you wanna check out or tell your friends.
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By: dvine on 8/19/2010 10:30AM
so u stereotype him based on his name.. ppl got a right 2 name their kids whatever they want.. if the child doesn't like it when he/she is of age then they'll have the option 2 change it.. but u taking the convo sideways.. this is an article about the kid not giving a damn about shooting a lil girl.. i don't care what his name is..
i understand what your saying because when ppl i knw have children i tell them - pls no ghetto baby names.. but ppl name their kids fruits and vegetables and that's better?!
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By: DaddyJ on 8/19/2010 1:37PM
Man ya'll are trip'n for one T.I. ain't on the side of this article that Lil Bow Wow on the side video we ain't no better than the white man stereo type'n people and not even knowing what we are talking about please. Don't blame T.I. anyway caz ya he got in trouble but if people new there facts, T.I. has been doin the most to help the community since he changed his ways listen to all his new music and check out all the schools and youth centers he has been reachin' out to before you go profile'n people and have know idea of what or who they are about. Besides that this country was founded on guns, weapons, prostitutes, inslaving people, drugs, alchol, etc. so its goin take time for us to change those ways Hell it took the white man 500 years to stop killing people in the public for dumb ish everyday, and now they just do it in other countries and call it war on terror. All we can do is pray, stay positive, and yes work with the kids in the community. And always remember ain't know body perfect T.I., Bush, Obama, me, you, or anybody we all make mistakes, it's how we pick ourselves up and who we have there to help us pick ourselves up. Big up to T.I. for changing his life and Big up to Bow Wow who has the video on the sde of this article for doin' movies and music for kids. Daddy J and I'm out
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By: Terrill Wyche on 8/21/2010 6:36PM
I agree with you. The other problem is that there are too many unstable people in this country who have handguns and they are far too easy to obtain. The United States has the most armed population of any developed country. Most of the time, people wind up killing each other too, rarely if ever protecting their loved ones.
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By: Little Dickie Dydoe on 8/18/2010 3:00AM
Congratulations Dr Boyce. You managed to get through the article without blaming Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly for this tragedy.
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By: Judy on 8/18/2010 7:06AM
No doubt this boy was hyped up on racist rap crap and hip hop, doped up saggy pants sideways cap and a lazy gun toteing thug wannabe. Its sad that there are a long line of these dumb thug wannabes that will take his place on our streets after this boy is behind bars. But hey. Maybe we can blame white people or President Bush and things will be made better. Not.
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