The League Lauches Non-Violence Campaign Inspired By Snoop Lion’s “No Guns Allowed”

The League of Young Voters Education Fund has launched a grassroots non-violence campaign inspired by entertainment icon, Snoop Lion aka Snoop Dogg’s song “No Guns Allowed” ft. Drake and his daughter Cori B. As the country faces the reality that a child or teen dies or is injured from guns every 30 minutes, the primary goal of the campaign is to decrease violence by advocating for youth violence prevention programs and background checks on firearm purchases.

During a recent appearance on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, Snoop explained how a rash of tragic school shootings motivated him to write “No Guns Allowed.”

“I wanted to make some music to try to help the next person who was thinking about loading a gun, going to a school and shooting. Maybe it would help him put that gun down and think about what he was doing before they [acted],” Snoop told Morgan.

In an open letter to Snoop, which garnered national media attention from leading outlets, such as Politico and BET, Rob “Biko” Baker, Executive Director of the League of Young Voters Education Fund said “I am so inspired that you are using your platform to speak up about the nation’s violence issue. I want you to know that the League of Young Voters Education Fund is committed to spreading your anti-violence message to prevent future tragedies.”

The buzz surrounding the open letter caught Snoop’s attention and prompted him to responded publicly via his Twitter account, which quickly led to a meeting between the superstar and leaders from the League.

Check out what Snoop Lion tweeted to @TheLeague99 … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Lashunda

We must never forget: Black men and boys are dying

Eight years ago I was just a normal high school student with my share of challenges, but nothing seemed different than what other teenagers were facing. That is until I received a phone call that changed not only the way I viewed the world, but also my place within it.

My 20-year-old brother Andre was shot and killed a month before his 21st birthday.  His death devastated my family and still continues to hold a dark shadow over our lives today.

What continues to surprise and sadden me till this day is the fact that my brother isn’t the first or the last. Why? Every single day in America, news stories flash snapshots of a life that once was. Years of a young persons’ life is defined in less than two paragraphs in the back pages of a newspaper.  Burier grounds are assigned and  shortly the names are forgotten in the media. Those lives are only remembered by the ones that loved them most and the heavy tombstone-baring legacy to the lives they once laid.

Black men are dying. They are being murdered and not in some far away land but right here in our own backyards. They are our sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins…they are our Trayvon’s, yet they are being used for target practice on our city streets. Where their blood runs through pavement cracks and they are reduce to life size portraits on the sidewalk.

According to the Special Report on Black Victims of Violent Crimes, published in 2007  by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, In 2005, [the year my brother was murdered] blacks were victims of nearly half (49%) of all homicides although accounting for only 13 percent of the U.S. population. What is even more disturbing is that 85 percent of black homicide victims were males and 51 percent between the ages of 17 to 19 years old.

Homicide is the leading cause of death for African American males between the ages of 15- 25 years old. The rate of deaths for African American males could be compared to the number of men and women we lose during times of war.

Continue reading … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Jamira Burley

A Summer to Die For: Country Held at Gunpoint #PutTheGunsDown:

Days like these, with the feel of sweat rolling down your back.

The sound of Mr. Softie playing in the background and little kids playing hop scotch on cracked pavements; unaware of the danger that may be lurking behind every corner, sidewalk and alley way

Then out of nowhere, without warning or justification, bullets are flying in every direction. Marking an unsuspected victim for death.

Jump ropes are dropped in mid-swing, basketballs are left to roll into oncoming traffic and the only sound left is the pinching cries of a mother holding her baby, as she becomes just another victim of violence.

Stories like those are happening every single day in America, where young people are dying before they are even old enough to vote. Where the price of leaving your home, may mean death. So summer days like these are exterminating our youth, many of who are lacking for opportunities and safe places to play.

We lose more Americans to violence on our own city streets, than on the battlegrounds of war. We have made kid soldiers out of our youth, criminals out of the disadvantaged and funeral attendees out of us all.

Guns are becoming more accessible than textbooks and supermarkets. Yet we continue to serve them up to the unfit and unqualified, which are resulting in mass murders and mass shootings.

Have we not learned anything since the hundreds of victims we have lost since Tucson or the hundreds of thousands we’ve lost prior to?

The body count continues.

Gravesites don’t lie and bullets end lives.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Jamira Burley

[WATCH] Milwaukee Youth Recites Lupe’s “All Black Everything”

It’s a beautiful day in the community, when you can hear children walking down the street chanting words of empowerment as opposed to the B-word as a term of endearment! As I stood in front of the League of Young Voters Wisconsin chapter, a swarm of youth under the age of 10 walked toward me reciting and blasting music in unison but it wasn’t the typical Lil Boosie, ratchet playlist I’m used to hearing here.

You could tell these young people analyzed the lyrics to the song and felt the words as they recited it. I was so moved, I pulled out my cell phone. For this wasn’t a routine for Juneteenth or some parade, it was just a random Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee.

[JUMP] to [WATCH]

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DJWillieShakes

What it Takes to get my Vote in 2012

In 2008, there was so much excitement surrounding the presidential election that it was contagious. For many, like myself, it would be one of our first opportunities to vote for the United States’ highest office… President. As a 20-year-old, who just started my second semester in college, it turned into one of the biggest moments of my life.

There was not only a black man in the race but also a woman, who both represented many of the issues I care about. But a lot has changed since that time of staying up late to hand out flyers and giving up my weekends to canvass.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Jamira Burley