I remember when September marked a wonderful time of transition and anticipation.  Labor Day signaled the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year.  Football resumed in earnest and in baseball, it was the pennant races.

All that is still true, but so much has changed in our world since September 11, 2001.  It now seems the month of September will forever be linked to terror.

This month began with a horrendous act of terror.  Over 300 adults and children were brutally and senselessly murdered on the first day of school in the North Ossetian town of Beslan in Russia.  Such a vicious and insane act of terror makes one wonder how safe our children are in our own schools, and whether such violence could occur here in the United States.

Sadly, the violence that occurred in Russia could be replicated just about anywhere.  Even more disturbing is the fact that violence is occurring here and now, at alarmingly high rates, in and around America’s schoolyards.

Here are some statistics I found compiled on the web site of the National Education Association Health Information Network for School and Community Safety:

As I read the aforementioned facts, I wondered if people really know what is going on within our own country.

Sadly, these deaths are not the topic of campaign debates.  Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats seem interested in talking about the children who are dying because of firearms.

The president of Russia called for two days of mourning while the people of Beslan buried their dead.  No one has called for a day of national mourning for the 3,000 children gunned down in America in 2002, and those who have died since then.

Every month, I create a new page and begin listing the names of men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Over one thousand Americans have now died from fighting in those two countries.  I find it heartbreaking to record the deaths of so many young people cut down in the prime of their lives – killed in ambushes, victims of sniper attacks and improvised explosive devices.

September 2004 is proving to be another horrendous month for our troops.  On September 6, seven Marines lost their lives when a suicide car bomber slammed his vehicle into a military convoy on the outskirts of Fallujah.  That tragic event made the headlines, as well it should, but no one reported that in 2002, statistically, eight children were killed each and every day in America from gunfire.

I recently had a conversation with my good friend, Craig Dean, about a senseless murder that occurred this month, just across the street from a local high school.  Two years ago, I featured Dean in diversityinbusiness.com because of his success in establishing a summer internship for students attending Chicago’s Holy Trinity High School, a parochial school that offers inner city youths the opportunity to receive a quality education and an escape from the underreported terror that fills so many public high schools.

I told Dean of how a young man got into a dispute with several teens while he waited in the school’s parking lot for his brother.  According to reports, the teens drove off but returned moments later and shot into the young man.  As coincidence would have it, the very moment that the young man was killed, another teen was appearing before a judge, just a few blocks away, for the murder of another student who attended the same high school.  That murder occurred on the same day, just one year earlier.

Dean responded with news that I wish were not true.  He told me that a Holy Trinity student was gunned down just days before school opened.  It was a case of the student being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The student didn’t know his killers and they didn’t know him.

This evening, as I was preparing this piece, there was a report of a young girl who was shot to death in a grocery store parking lot.  She was on her way to a birthday party, and was reportedly very excited about starting her senior year of high school the following day.  An anonymous assailant gunned her down in board daylight.

If the candidates want to talk about leadership and about making America safe, then I’d like to hear them offer tangible plans for addressing the ongoing terror already in America.

As frustrated as I am with the senseless deaths that go underreported, I even more frustrated by the fact that so few people seem to care about the senseless bloodshed right here in our own streets.

Our nation is spending billions of dollars to wage war on terrorists after roughly 3,000 people died in the greatest single act of domestic terrorism in our nation’s history.  Since September 11, 2001, we have lost roughly three-times that many children to gunfire, and shockingly, there are no calls for national prayer, or moments of silence and remembrance, or declarations by our politicians that this evil will be stopped.

I guess I’m extra sensitive to all the killings because they remind me of the terror I knew as a teen.  I know what it means to race home from school, taking a route carefully planned so as to avoid detection by gangs eager for new “recruits.”  I know the penalty of not having gang affiliation, or having the wrong gang affiliation.  If caught, it could have cost me my life.  While I owe my life to the grace of God’s protection, for too many children returning to school this month, this will be their final year of life.

Terror is terror, whether inflicted upon one or upon three hundred. 

I find it sad that there won't be any army or storm troopers attempting to rescue or protect the innocent kids who will be gunned down, one or two at a time, on the streets of America. I am concerned for the children of poor and working class families who cannot afford safe, private schools, but must attend lasses everyday in fear of their lives.

Yes, there is a war of terror going on in America, and action is required.  The first and most important step is for more Americans to become aware of how deadly our streets are and how great the risks are for too many of our children.  Oprah Winfrey received a great deal of media attention when she was ordered to serve as a juror in a Chicago murder trial.  One of the good things to come out of that experience was Oprah’s realization that people are being gunned down with virtually no media attention.  Oprah has promised to address this issue in a future show.

The next step is to press lawmakers to acknowledge the problem and to demand greater enforcement of laws designed to restrict the sale of guns.  Our political leaders need to put the safety of our children back on their agenda.

Another important step is to support initiatives that promote youth safety.  At diversityinbusiness.com, we are committed to providing more information about conferences and workshops that address issues of teen safety.

One of the most effective deterrents to youth involvement with crime is the presence of mentors.  There are local organizations seeking volunteers to mentor young people.  Perhaps this will be the year that you become a mentor, or the year that you become more involved in the life of a young person, even if it is your own child or a relative.

We can also create opportunities for young people to participate in constructive endeavors.  Not everyone has the organizational skills and contacts to establish a summer internships program like Craig Dean did; but you might be able to sponsor a student or fund their participation in a summer camp or some other program designed to enrich their lives.  One initiative that comes to mind is the Young Eagles Program, which is sponsored by Experimental Aircraft Association, and in many areas, supported by the Organization of Black Airline Pilots and Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.  This program provides young people of all backgrounds with an opportunity to experience aviation.  Since publishing this website, I have learned of many individuals who have pursued successful careers in aviation as a result of taking their first flight through the Young Eagles Program.

Yes, one act of kindness, one positive exposure can go a very long way.

In the fight against domestic terror, personal involvement is essential.  Perhaps you can encourage your organization to sponsor initiatives designed to enhance the educational experiences of disadvantaged youth.  This month, I will participate in a bike-a-thon to raise money for the United Negro College Fund, which provides scholarships for deserving youth, regardless of race or ethnicity.  My participation reminds me that I have the ability to make a difference and that I can team up with others to provide life-enhancing experiences and opportunities for those who are less fortunate.

Yes, there is a war going on, and there is much we can and must do to win the war.  With God’s help, we shall overcome.

Be blessed and bless others.

Dan Perkins