Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Eric Holder and Arne Duncan Speak on Teen Violence Oct. 7

Attorney General Eric Holder and Arne Duncan, secretary of education, have teamed to stem the teen violence epidemic. Teen violence isn't a black, Hispanic or white problem. It's everyones problem. Holder sounds serious and he says Obama is committed:
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan pledged federal support on Wednesday to fight a surge in youth violence in Chicago and other cities, calling the brutal beating death of a teenager on the city's South Side a wake-up call for the country.
But neither offered specifics or outlined any new strategies on how the government would help quell the increase in the number of violent deaths among teens.
Duncan and Holder were sent to Chicago by President Barack Obama to meet with officials, parents and students from Christian Fenger Academy High School after the vicious beating of a 16-year-old sophomore whose Sept. 24 after-school death was captured on a cell phone video.
Holder said the disturbing images of Derrion Albert's beating death have been a wake-up call for the country and a call to action for the Obama administration.
"Youth violence is not a Chicago problem, any more than it is a black problem, a white problem or a Hispanic problem," Holder said. "It is an American problem." AP
Arne Duncan says we have to take responsibility for the deaths of kids, such as Derrion Albert. We have to have a national conversation on values, he said. When children are fearful they can't learn:
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