Hundreds of Sacramento teens filled the streets mourning the death of 17yr-old Marque Johnson. Often in the silent night a loud cry could be heard by someone crying out "Not Marque, Please not Marque."   Most of the teens cried silently with tears flowing heavily and strongly down their young faces.  Marque is loved and will be missed by many. It was apparent the teen touched many lives. At one point I counted 287 people but then I lost count as many would come and some could no longer stand and were escorted off by friends or family members.   Teens held on to one another carrying teddy bears, candles, pictures and posters each wanting Marque to know they love him.   Someone rode to t

Continued from Part 1 Thank you Sacramento Press: Our Cries echo- contnued Last month I attended a justice march and rally. An elderly man walked with the group from the District Attorney's office to Sacramento superior court and then we walked to the federal courthouse. The man carried one of the signs provided by the organizers of the march which mentioned criminal justice system unfair to minorities. The man was Caucasian. His middle-aged son said, "Dad, you are not a minority why are you carrying the sign?" The elderly man said, "It's the only one they have and we're here due to an unfair court." I saw a man who was not black, walking in pain due to court misconduct, who had to settl

Thank you Sacramento Press! It is an honor and I am truly grateful to receive second place when so many talented, insightful and knowledgeable contributors such as William Burg, Ali Tabatabai, Marion Millin, Michael Zwahlen, Kate Traci, Ryan Kinsel, Sue Wilson, Anne Lowe and so many others wrote wonderful and informative articles. I never expected to win. I truly appreciate an opportunity to allow the voice of so many of us to be heard. I truly appreciate Sacramento Press for allowing me to pay homage to the youth who have lost their lives as a result of youth violence. On behalf of those who have lost their lives and on behalf of all the friends, siblings, parents and grandparents affe

Letter in regards to Sacramento Steps Forward Initiative article: With all my heart I wanted to read the article and only see the good. With all my heart I wanted to not write anything negative towards such a positive step for this city. But in all honesty the article raised deep concerns and to avoid writing a long post I'm writing my concerns here. Is this a Step forward? When will a community begin to Take Steps Towards Healing??? I feel as though sometimes we takes steps and then we step on a treadmill and no longer move forward. I've addressed youth violence for many years. I've seen many "steps forward" which ended in people walking in reverse or walking on a treadmill. I've watche