Pubdate: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL) Copyright: 2005sPeoria Journal Star Contact: http://pjstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338 Author: Jerry Klein, Columnist, PJ Star STRONG FAMILIES NEEDED TO HALT CITY VIOLENCE No longer is our beautiful Peoria the unchallenged second city of Illinois. But in one respect, at least, it may have become the first city of Illinois, and that is in the number of homicides per capita. There have been, so far, 13 killings by my reckoning, all of them by gunshot and the overwhelming majority consisting of young black males killing young black males. Gangs, drugs, sex or what is known as disrespect are the usual motives, but there is something more behind them. To pursue this further is not going to be politically correct and risks raising the cry of racism, but it cannot be brushed aside so easily. For the sad reality is that the collapse of the family - the black family in particular - is behind so many of these senseless killings. Where is the father? I do not have the statistics to bear this out, but in too many cases, he is long gone. The kids are being raised by the single mother, who must work out of necessity. And she is probably not going to a high-profile job, but rather one in which the hours are long and the pay is meager. So who is there when the kids get out of school? Who makes sure they do their homework? Who goes to the PTA meetings? Who makes sure there aren't any guns in the house? Who monitors TV? Who keeps track of the companions the kids are running with? To be sure, there are many heroic single moms, but raising, feeding, providing for and watching over our young is not a one-person job. Kids need a father, a man who guards and guides them and loves them in a uniquely manly way. Take him away, and the gang fills the void, drugs take the place of fatherly love and violence becomes a substitute for affection. In the absence of discipline and social restraints, it becomes far too easy to pick up a gun and blow the problem away. This disastrous epidemic of young men shooting young men will not go away as a result of more policemen on the beat or men in red berets patrolling the neighborhoods, but with a rejection of the rap mentality and a return to family values, which is to say the dad in the home. People such as myself are not going to solve this problem, but rather black parents who insist that their sons, in particular, accept sexual responsibility and practice fidelity and who provide the example with their own lives. Many are doing this and are as frustrated as anyone over these killings. While it is not exclusively a black problem, it needs a black solution. It is not so much an economic solution that is needed as a cultural and a moral one. Stop the violence. Let's reaffirm the importance of the family in putting a stop to this killing environment. We have enough black basketball players, rappers and hamburger flippers. What we need are more black attorneys, black priests, black newspaper editors, black fathers who have time for their wives and children and who are an example to us all. On this anniversary of the 9-11 disaster, when hatred became real and dwelt among us, we have to counter what lies behind the rage with an awareness that life is precious, that kids need a mom and a dad, and that the only real answer to the madness of bombings in Iraq and shootings in Peoria lies in the enlightenment of education and the healing power of love. Unfortunately, the name of one gang pretty much says it all. It calls itself "No Luv." Jerry Klein is a columnist with the Journal Star.