I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a child. That village acts as the vessel to bring forth the next generation within our society. However, if children are being murdered at the tender age of six then that means the village does not exist. The next generation is in danger of not taking our places at all. Rallies are an outdated model that only bring people together to call attention to an issue for a few hours and then everything dissipates. We are beyond marching. We are beyond prayer. We are beyond planning. Take everything and throw it out. We need to return to traditional values that are ancestors held dear. It takes a village to raise a child. We need to create our village.
My own humble existence has been placed in these shoes. The Circle of Sisterhood was created with the intent for women to come together and support each other in a sacred healing space. My next step? Education from the ground up. It has to start from the womb and continue into adulthood. I have spoken to an Afrocentric private school not far from my home. The conversation was interesting because I am not pregnant nor do I plan to be so anytime soon. However, in the face of a primary child being shot, I feel compelled to do something personal going forward. Every time it comes up in conversation, I get the chills. Our children need us to do something. We need us to do something else because our current efforts are failing.
There is a group that now exists in Miami for parents that have lost children. Imagine the pain of burying a life that you brought forth. It never leaves. We can not stand by and allow these members of our society to face this pain alone. A new formula must be put together and it is going to take all of us. Politicians, educators, healers, religious leaders, parents, students……..walk, talk, pray, plan, change. We are running out of caskets. We are running out of space. Time is against us.