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Families grieve as Chicago killings increase
Community organiser Darius McGraw was one of more than 500 people killed in the US' deadliest city in 2012
Chicago, US - A stack of glossy images showing an active and smiling young man is all that's left for Darius McGraw's family to remember him by.
On a cold morning in November 2012, 22-year-old McGraw was gunned down while walking to the home of his fiancée on Chicago's Southwest Side to pick up the couple's two-year-old daughter, Harmony.
According to a website set up by The Chicago Tribune to track homicides in the city, 513 people were killed in Chicago in 2012, most by gun violence.
The number is 15 percent higher than the previous year, and higher than more populous cities such as New York and Los Angeles - where the homicide rate has been decreasing in recent years.
More: http://aje.me/ZHq4l5
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And this is what is wrong in Chicago:
Devastated communities
But not everyone sees more policing as part of the solution to the violence.
"The reason why the violence is getting worse is because more and more resources are being taken away from our communities," said Chris Bufford, a 26-year-old community activist who worked with Darius at the Southwest Youth Collaborative (SWYC).
In October, SWYC - one of the few organisations of its kind on the Southwest Side - was forced to close due to a lack of funds.
Bufford described SWYC as a space where many young people from the community would get services such as mentorship and tutoring. "And that's no longer there for them," he said.
In largely Black and Latino areas on Chicago's South and West Sides, where most killings occurred in 2012, it's common to see empty lots and boarded up homes and shops on nearly every street. In many neighbourhoods, liquor stores are some of the only places that can be found open.
But not everyone sees more policing as part of the solution to the violence.
"The reason why the violence is getting worse is because more and more resources are being taken away from our communities," said Chris Bufford, a 26-year-old community activist who worked with Darius at the Southwest Youth Collaborative (SWYC).
In October, SWYC - one of the few organisations of its kind on the Southwest Side - was forced to close due to a lack of funds.
Bufford described SWYC as a space where many young people from the community would get services such as mentorship and tutoring. "And that's no longer there for them," he said.
In largely Black and Latino areas on Chicago's South and West Sides, where most killings occurred in 2012, it's common to see empty lots and boarded up homes and shops on nearly every street. In many neighbourhoods, liquor stores are some of the only places that can be found open.
Similar to my cousins death. But it doesn't matter - because it was only one
expendable.
Cue the "If he had a gun on him" chorus . . .
Yeah, a moat around the city! That'll keep them darn guns out!
