Today on CNN Newsroom
The Night My Daughter Died
Patricia Brown is a community activist in Chicago. Her 17-year-old daughter, Patrice, was killed by a stray bullet in 2007. On Friday night (May 16) she joined Don Lemon as we look deeper into this wave of killings of Chicago teens. We asked her to write about that fateful night.
August 24, 2007, is the day my world came to a crashing end. It was the day my daughter and I passed away.
When my daughter’s lifeless body was lifted up from the ground they picked me up as well. Everything the doctors did to save my daughter they did to me. The only sad thing is my daughter died three days later on August 27 at 2 p.m.
When I first heard that my daughter was shot, I was on my way home from bowling. My mother got a call that Patrice had been shot. I had to shock my own heart. That was the longest ride of my life. When we finally got to the house, there were police and people everywhere. I had a feeling that first ambulance I saw was the one that had my baby, but I saw another one down the street and I ran calling my baby’s name hoping that she was in that one. Hoping to see her before she was taken away.
The next time I saw my baby, she was lying in the hospital with a mouth full of things keeping her alive. Never in my wildest dreams would I have to say goodbye to one of my children. I was ready to grow old with my children. I was looking forward to being called grandma or mommy.
My daughter had her whole life to live for. She was going into her last year of high school. She had jobs lined up. She knew what college she was going to. She knew what she wanted and she was going out to get it.
Until that night. A night I will never, ever forget.
To learn more and find out how you can help stop the violence, contact Diane Latiker, founder and president of Kids Off the Block.
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Patricia Brown's story breaks my heart. So many parents and children are dealing with the same issue... sadly not just in Chicago.. and not just in America.
I feel the pain everyday as I hear the stories while conducting a life skills group for a local High School in Norfolk Virginia. I had a vision that is now becoming a reality on May 30th 2009 Norfolk Virginia 1st annual "Youth March For Peace" We are expecting over 10,000 youth to participate in this march that I hope will get duplicated from city to city across this nation. It is my prayers that this will be a wild fire that catches and spread across the nation. This is a fire that we dont want to put out. The youth are pledging to march for change, they are choosing peace. Please help us pass this message along. I thank you, and the millions of youth across the nation that want chage thank you as well. Peace and Blessings to this great country we live in.
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