Black murders a Toronto issue: Editorial
Why is it that 25 of the 28 people shot to death this year in Toronto are black?
Why, in the five cases with arrests made, are all 12 suspects in these murders black?
Why isn't this of more concern to all Torontonians?
The statistics are jarring, driven home this month with a spate of shootings.
While politicians point to the overall statistics showing crime is falling in Toronto, gun violence - especially among blacks - is soaring.
The gunmen and victims may be blacks, but, Toronto, this is a problem for all of us.
The city was outraged over the murder of Jane Creba, a teenager shopping on Yonge Street on Boxing Day in 2005, caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs.
A man accused of killing a Toronto teenager as she shopped on busy Yonge Street on Boxing Day 2005 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jeremiah Valentine, 27, entered the plea on Tuesday, just four days short of the fourth anniversary of the death of the 15-year-old Grade 9 student. He was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 12 years.
We need to be just as outraged about this year's gun murders. These are our kids. These are senseless murders.
They are part of a gun and violence culture that's infecting this city. A lack of respect for life.
We've seen too many mothers of too many young, black men paraded in front of the media, pleading for action. Begging for help.
Sure, we've tried a little. Many of the problems have been identified.
Drugs, gangs, no father figures, broken families, parents working a number of jobs just to make ends meet, unable to be home for their kids. But these are just partial explanations.
American cities have struggled with this issue longer than we have.
We know the bulk of the problems are in the 13 priority neighbourhoods - ghettos - identified by City Hall. Money and programs have flowed into those areas. Has it made a difference? We think so. But we're absolutely no closer to solving the problem. On his way out of office, Mayor David Miller identified the growing divide between the haves and have nots in this city as a huge concern.
It's now Rob Ford's concern. And ours.
TD Bank CEO Ed Clark, in a speech in Montreal on Thursday, added those with less "will bear the brunt of the slow recovery." There isn't one solution, just like there isn't one black community. But there is one community called Toronto, and we can't accept these gun murders in our city.
Why, in the five cases with arrests made, are all 12 suspects in these murders black?
Why isn't this of more concern to all Torontonians?
The statistics are jarring, driven home this month with a spate of shootings.
While politicians point to the overall statistics showing crime is falling in Toronto, gun violence - especially among blacks - is soaring.
The gunmen and victims may be blacks, but, Toronto, this is a problem for all of us.
The city was outraged over the murder of Jane Creba, a teenager shopping on Yonge Street on Boxing Day in 2005, caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs.
A man accused of killing a Toronto teenager as she shopped on busy Yonge Street on Boxing Day 2005 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jeremiah Valentine, 27, entered the plea on Tuesday, just four days short of the fourth anniversary of the death of the 15-year-old Grade 9 student. He was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 12 years.
We need to be just as outraged about this year's gun murders. These are our kids. These are senseless murders.
They are part of a gun and violence culture that's infecting this city. A lack of respect for life.
We've seen too many mothers of too many young, black men paraded in front of the media, pleading for action. Begging for help.
Sure, we've tried a little. Many of the problems have been identified.
Drugs, gangs, no father figures, broken families, parents working a number of jobs just to make ends meet, unable to be home for their kids. But these are just partial explanations.
American cities have struggled with this issue longer than we have.
We know the bulk of the problems are in the 13 priority neighbourhoods - ghettos - identified by City Hall. Money and programs have flowed into those areas. Has it made a difference? We think so. But we're absolutely no closer to solving the problem. On his way out of office, Mayor David Miller identified the growing divide between the haves and have nots in this city as a huge concern.
It's now Rob Ford's concern. And ours.
TD Bank CEO Ed Clark, in a speech in Montreal on Thursday, added those with less "will bear the brunt of the slow recovery." There isn't one solution, just like there isn't one black community. But there is one community called Toronto, and we can't accept these gun murders in our city.
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