Jada Pinkett Smith is fed up with our collective apathy towards Chicago’s gun violence issues, calling for the abolition of the ‘hood’s age-old “stop snitching” ethos.
The actress and activist took to Facebook with her signature passion to grieve the loss of nine-year-old Tyshawn Lee, murdered yesterday (Tuesday, November 3).
“This person is not an individual. They’re not a human being,” Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement about the killer, who is unknown and still at large. “When you do what you’ve done to a nine-year-old, there’s a place for you. There is no humanity in that place.”
Pinkett-Smith’s plea focused on urban communities rising above the “code of the streets”:
“In a time when we are demanding for change and asking a nation to stand up, speak out and shine a light on injustices that are occurring in our communities, we have to recognize that it also takes making some change within our community as well. We may need to break some old habits, take some new risks to make sure we practice what we preach. It takes courage to manifest justice, it takes courage to be a hero, it takes courage to ask for change and to BE the change we are asking for.”
Prior to Pinkett-Smith’s post, a $35,000 reward was offered earlier this morning for information leading to an arrest in Tyshawn’s murder with Chicago police asking neighbors for help to find the boy’s killer.
“I just want justice for my son,” Karla Lee, Tyshawn’s mother, told local station ABC7. “Whoever knows anything, please let the police know. Please. He was only nine. He didn’t deserve this.”
Chicago has recorded an astounding 434 homicides this year to date, with the total number of people shot standing today at 2582 (source).
