It doesn't matter if the house has one parent or two, if it's taught in school, or if we hire millions of police. The problem starts at home. These youngsters have NO reverence for GOD, therefore they have No fear of GOD. Old school, my mother had the 3 of us believing the Lord was on us way back here everyday! If you live like there may not be a tomorrow, you'd be surprised how upright you walk. A healthy fear of God is what these youngsters need. Believe me it works. You don't have to stay stuck up in some church to get a Godly upbringing. We all know some of them (churches) have loss sight of their purpose. Godly upbringing. THE PURPOSE FOR BEING CREATED IN THE FIRST PLACE IS TO GLORIFY GOD. ...
Ms. Reid

I agree God should be in the picture, as well as, a knowledge and a value system other than guns, cars, shoes, clothes, and phones. In, too many homes the value systems are misplaced and abuse is taking place. There should be a Knowledge of God, a Knowledge of Self, the Practice aiding and abiding for others, and the Practice of Healthy Relationships. We need to show our children how to have conflict without it ending in violence or death. It's OK to disagree, without name calling or fault-finding. Also, we need to increase the Knowledge of the ENTIRE world that they live and then, look beyond. All of this can not take place within the schools.

This man could sing!!! Talent as a DJ and vocalist. Also, a clarification: The story (please read!) is not saying this was black-on-black, but it is addressing the high number of black, male homicides in our country. Police are still searching for suspects! Thanks!!!

SELF LOVE! SELF LOVE! SELF LOVE! I had to scream it so that it possibly could be heard. People we do no one any good in the grave unless you are the ones that are putting multiple young people in theirs. Follow the commandments, especially "thou shall not kill" even if you don't believe. We have got to do better.

Prayer and fasting. We need to repent of our evil ways as a community. We used to respect and love God and each other.

Guess what? Most murders are committed by people of the same race as the victim. Therefore the 95% statistic you cited would be in line with national statistics for every race.

"Stop white-on-white crime" might also be an effective mantra.

Douglas. Love you my human brother (no matter your race!)
Now, black men make up about 6 percent of the U.S. population yet study after study after study shows they are killing each other at a rate seven times higher than that of white males (see the CDC chart). But, with all due to respect to other races, that's not my focus. WE have a problem in black America and if we don't face it we will just continue killing each other on the streets. Check out: http://www.regalmag.com/report-shows-rise-blackonblack-crime-a-315.html

It is hard to believe that a someone would report this article as a relation to hip hop and relate it to black on black crime when the press release from Lowndes County (prior to your report) said that the victim called 911 himself to report that he had been shot by an unknown, masked, white male. Janita Poe, shame on you for trying to make your own story instead of staying with the facts regarding this case.

@Todd Borne. I do understand your concern because I mention Tupac and Biggie and, at the time the story was posted, there was nothing on the WALB-TV site about victim calling “911 himself to report that he had been shot by an unknown, masked, white male.”
But, please read the story! I make clear, up high that "I do not know the race or gender of the suspect in this case but his death was violent." But let's go further....
Are you African-American? I don't know. But I do want to know this: What is the benefit of all of this defensiveness about black-on-black crime? Why do we spend so much energy trying to avoid our problem and argue that white people kill, too?
I'm am sick-and-tired of the hypersensitivity of Black America! It keeps us behind the eight ball.
Georgia rapper Slim Dunkin is DEAD. Georgia V96 Hip Hop DJ Juan Gatti is DEAD. Both died violently, a month apart.
Yet, you and people who think like you are more concerned about the image of the Hip Hop world and Black America than you are about the fact that these talented black men died violently inside and outside their studios!
A non-black person may have killed Gatti. O.K.!!! But the larger issue of black men dying violently is one we need to talk about every chance we get.
I appreciate you, because you are a bright, thoughtful reader! But, in return, I say "shame on you" and others for never addressing the real problem of black, male homicides in America!!

@Todd P.S. I will not be able to go back and forth on this topic because I wear many hats at Cascade Patch and am always on deadlines. I did want to address your comment, however. And, as always, thank you for sharing your view!!

Unfortunatly we as Black men are often taught that manhood means dominating and violence is a way of gaining respect . It's time for all of us, as I have done , to look at those beliefs . We must teach that respect is more than how some one looks at you .
I too often here how violent behavior is due to the person disrespecting them. Well get over it and respect yourself. We as adults have often passed on sayings like : " if someone hits you hit them back" . Well , back then it did not work . Now the hit has a totally different meaning.
Who are we as fathers and men if we can't teach our young a sense of belonging without violence?
We have lost too many of our talented young men over words and misinterpreted meanings .
Let's redefine Manhood so we can have men for the future .

I grew up with Stephon. He was like my little brother. He lived across the street from me and his mom used to babysit me. I'm so sadden by this. Stephon sung in my wedding long before his professional life began.

I believe that the problem today is bigger than one that can be resolved in a few years and/or with just one solution. The first problem is the removal of God from everything which means the new parents of today have no concept of God and have no idea of the importance of God in their lives. This is passed on to the children. There is no regard for human life today, which is a major component when God is in the picture.

It took many years to get to this place. And if we are sincere about resolving it, we must first bring God back and be patient because it will take many, many years to fix the problem. It's just like weight gain/loss. It's easy to gain (over a few years), but it will take much longer and a whole lot of work to get it off.

@R Holmes. I am so sorry for your loss and the family's deep loss. I can tell you that, by watching him in the video, he exuded such a good spirit and, omgosh, could he ever sing!
His delivery of that song is still ringing in my head. May he rest in peace.
Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome! Yes! He had a beautiful voice! He was still in high school when he sung "You are so Beautiful" in my wedding. He was 9 years younger than I am, but he had such a natural, encouraging spirit. He encouraged me to continue to pursue my fine art ambitions. He called me "The Renaissance Woman"!! I'm going on and on! Please forgive me!

Thanks for the prayers. His mom is extremely distraught...inconsolable. Understandably so.

Renee'

No parent should have to bury a child. I can only imagine her pain. Peace to everyone in (or from) Valdosta who knew him.

I just spoke with Stephon's mom! She's very thankful for all of the love, thoughts and prayers, especially for what you've done here! It pleases her to know that he was so well-known and loved. She thanks you from the bottom of her heart.

She told me they caught the guy, as you probably have already heard. It was a hired gun and a case of mistaken identity. He was not the intended target.

Where are the "neighbors" in "the hood"? We need to start putting the "neighbor" back in our communities. Once we learn to care for each other again, this nonsense can stop happening.