Dr. King’s dream and march, our nightmare and pain “I feel so broken hearted, I cried so many tears There was so much you gave me, to my heart, to my soul So much of your dreams that were never told There was hope for a brighter day Why were you, my flower, plucked away Oh, oh, I’m missing you Tell me why the road turns I’m missing you” —Diana Ross I miss my son. I miss hugging him. I miss looking in his eyes when he is excited. I miss us discussing his plans for his future. I miss sharing in his everyday experiences. I miss his smile. I miss his joy. All I ever wanted was for him to be in an environment where he can grow. My son was arrested at 19 years of age. He was sentenced t

The phone rings a woman cries out. “Rhonda, is your son okay? I heard he was robbed at gunpoint. Was he shot?" "My son is on his way home from school. It must be someone else." I replied. I hung up the phone and I called the cell phone my sister had bought my son for Christmas. A voice I did not recognize answered. I asked, “Who is this?" I demanded, "Put my son on the phone."  The person responded, "You're son is dead" and then they hung up. I called back crying, "Please put my son on the phone." They replied, "He's dead." I ran to the car with no idea of where I was going. I decided to drive the route my son would have walked home from school. I was praying "Please God let me find m

An Open Letter to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson In Regards to you being "thrilled to announce - after much deliberation, prayer, conversation and discussion…” you are running for re-election: Mayor Johnson, many Sacramento residents are not so thrilled with your announcement. In fact, for many of us your announcement and words therein adds insult to injury. Mayor Johnson prayer is something many of us know so very well. Falling on our knees in pain we know all too well. Crying to the heavens for a change we know all too well. Screaming out in the middle of the night for comfort we know all too well. Sleepless nights concerned for the welfare of our teens to walk, ride in or play in t

May 17th 2011 I left work early to head to city hall. As I entered the building I was surprised to see so many community members dressed in blue shirts with the initials SPOA and a photo of a badge printed on the front of the shirts. Many held signs which read, “Protect Sacramento.” As I sat in the session and listened to the presentation given by Sacramento Police Chief Braziel I was alarmed, concerned and to be honest extremely disappointed. As I listened too many of the speakers my heart began to ache. I began to pray. I became overwhelmed with sorrow. Suddenly city hall transformed into a 16th century fairy tale-- The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Or better yet, the Pied Piper of Sacramen

Kudos to St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church Youth Department for providing an educational opportunity for youth 13-17yrs of age. The program will focus on youth violence prevention- to save a life and save freedom. The program will include discussions on youth death and youth arrests. Everyone is welcome. Please bring youth who you feel could benefit from the outreach. On Friday youth will write down what they want to discuss. A mother who lost her teenage son will discuss choices. Her son died after making a bad choice and police attempted to apprehend him. The mother has a powerful tragic story to share with the youth. Their will also be several youth performances including the Aztec