Young, Gifted, Black and Dead!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

"Mercy, mercy me...things ain't what they used to be...where did all the blue skies go...poison is the wind that blows from the north and south..."

"When I look at the world it fills me with sorrow...little children today are really gonna suffer tomorrow..."

"God is my friend..Jesus is my friend...He made this world for us to live in, and gave us everything...and all he asks of us is we give each other love..."

"And He'll forgive all our sins...forgive all our sins...and all He asks of us, is we give each other love..."

"Make me wanna holler..the way they do my life...this ain't livin',...this ain't livin'..."

"Mother, Mother...there's too many of you crying...Brother, Brother, Brother...there's far too many of you dying..."

"You know we've got to find a way...to bring some lovin' here today..."

These photographs were all taken in 2006 at various sidewalk makeshift memorials, prayer vigils, wakes, funerals, and burials in the city of Philadelphia. The deceased were all young African Americans murdered by fellow African Americans. This is not a Philadelphia problem. Black on black violence is a national problem. It's my problem. It's your problem. It's our problem. When will we solve it? The statistics are alarming; according to a 2005 Justice Department report blacks, who make up 13% of the US population, accounted for 50% of the nations murder victims, 93% of these victims were killed by fellow African Americans.