The Chicago Public Schools system sidelined two high school football coaches for allegedly driving teens to the house of Darion Jones to beat him. Jones's mother is outraged because her son lost a prosthetic eye and a tooth in the Saturday afternoon attack.

The reason for the beating was even explained by the coaches who claimed a pair of flip-flops were stolen. The 16-year-old student is fearful for his life since he was told that the situation is not over.

Fenger High School is nationally known as the school where Derrion Albert was beaten and killed back in 2009.

Watch the news clip and see why his mother has a right to be angry.

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The fifth and final defendant has been found guilty for the brutal beating death of Chicago teen Derrion Albert.

As previously reported, video surfaced in 2009 of the honor student being beaten to death with fists, feet and a wooden board in an after school street fight.

On Thursday Lapoleon Colbert was found guilty of first degree murder and faces 20 to 60 years in prison.

Colbert was a senior at Fenger High School when the incident took place.

Both his family and Albert's were in court for the hearing including Norman Golliday -- Albert's grandfather who told MyFoxChicago,

 "That's six lives. Six young men - who knows what they could have went on to do."

Check out MyFoxChicago's coverage of the case below.

]]> http://hiphopwired.com/2011/06/03/fifth-defendant-found-guilty-in-murder-of-derrion-albert-video/feed/ 0 http://hiphopwired.com/2011/01/12/2nd-person-convicted-in-2009-beating-death-of-derrion-albert/ http://hiphopwired.com/2011/01/12/2nd-person-convicted-in-2009-beating-death-of-derrion-albert/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:45:44 +0000 C. Vernon Coleman II http://hiphopwired.com/?p=73612
Tuesday (January 10, 2011), a jury convicted a second person associated with the brutal 2009 beating death of 16-year-old Chicago student Derrion Albert.

Silvonous Shannon was convicted of first-degree murder for his part in the beating that was caught on video.

Shannon and his defense attorneys claim he was acting in self-defense, but the video shown to jurors appeared to depict otherwise.

The video shows a group of young people kicking and hitting Albert.

At one point, someone slams a board into Albert's head, and then Shannon appears to prepare to kick the fallen teen.

But Shannon told jurors he had no recollection of striking Albert.

Whether he actually kicked the defenseless teen was obstructed from view of the camera by another teen, but it was enough for the jury to believe he dealt the final blow.

Last month, a jury convicted a 15-year-old of first-degree murder in the beating, following a two-day trial.

As a part of the mob that beat Derrion to death, the 15-year-old landed a single punch to Albert's face that prosecutors successfully contended was the start of the late teen's ending.

Stories conflict as to what started the September 2009 brawl that left Albert, a Fenger high school student, dead.

Some accounts say he was a willing participant in a fight between two warring factions.

Others say the honor student was beaten for refusing to join a local gang.

The case was a startling example of escalating violence that claimed the lives of more than 20 Chicago public school students in a six-month period.

Shannon faces a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison when he returns to court Feb. 14.

The 15-year-old faces the same charges when he is sentenced on January 18.

Three more people still face charges in the attack.

Silvonous Shannon

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Violence continues to grip the city of Chicago.  Tanja Stokes, 8, was killed and her cousin Ariana Jones, 7, wounded in a shooting on the city's South Side, yesterday.

The two were jumping rope outside when witnesses say at least two gunmen rode by on bikes and riddled the house that the two girls were playing in front of with bullets. Both little girls were shot in the head and Jones remains in critical condition.

Though family members say they don't know why the house was targeted, they say the shooters were well aware that there were children playing outside.

"They deliberately aimed. They shot the whole house up," says the victim's cousin Charles Ware.

Deputy Supt. Ernest Brown of the Bureau of Patrol spoke on the incident and the need for cooperation among members of the community.

"What I think this underscores is our absolute need to be committed in partnership with the community, citizens and everyone in Chicago. Essentially, what we need to do is turn this anger into mobilized activity where we start to say something. If you see something, say something. Silence does kill. And in this particular case we need all the help we can get to get these individuals with guns off the street."

The need to find a solution to the cities violence is long past overdue. This year's violent crime waive in Chicago even prompted two Illinois lawmakers, State Representatives John Fritchey (D) and LaShawn Ford (D) to urge Governor Pat Quinn to deploy troops in April. No one has been apprehended in the Tanja Stokes case.

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A now much wiser 18-year-old Vashawn Bullock is sitting down to tell reporters how his life changed forever that fateful September day.

Footage captured the infamous deadly incident on camera showing Fenger High School honor student Derrion Albert being punched, kicked, stomped and beaten with plywood during a massive brawl through city streets.
Bullock was suspended for five months for the incident but had a change of heart after gaining a mentor who's paying for his education at Muhammad University of Islam.
He tells MyFoxChicago that his new environment has helped change his life.

“They make sure it's 100% discipline at all times, from the nails, to the clothes, to your hair, everything…”

Bullock was seen on the Derrion Albert video shirtless and being struck with ply-wood before grabbing the object himself and preparing to strike someone else with it.
He says however that something told him to put it down and walk away.

“I guess it was the grace of god that was in me. He was planning his directions for me right then…[telling me to] just walk away.”

Does it ever stop?

By it, I mean violence.

The society we live in today has become so violent that we have become desensitized to the magnitude of this tumultuous world we live in.

We cannot fathom the hurt or the pain that these victims of violence feel but even worse, we cannot fathom the pain felt by the families they left behind.

As a writer I find myself writing about violence everyday and while it's disturbing and immediately grabs my attention as a story that needs to be told, within hours the effect is gone and I'm numb to the instance making it an afterthought.

Whether it's the Derrion Albert beating....

“After he hit the concrete, a gang of them just came over and started stomping him in the head and started beating him,” said an anonymous eyewitness to the tragedy. “It was over for him.”

Or the Spelman student killed by a stray bullet on the campus of Clark Atlanta University....

"Spelman student Jasmine Lynn was hit in the chest by a stray bullet while walking with friends to the neighboring campus of Clark Atlanta University."

Or the story of the 21-year-old mother that beat and killed her two month old on Christmas Eve...

"21-year-old Charlotte Wyatt of Detroit is facing murder charges after police claim she beat and killed her 2 month old baby on Christmas Eve..."

The question still remains:

Does it ever stop?

When I read the Fred Couch story I knew I had to put it up because I couldn't believe that another kid from the same high school where Derrion Albert was viciously stomped and beaten had perished.

Another little Black boy in Chicago who lost his life for nothing is gone and there isn't a thing we can do about it.

What you didn't read in that Fred Couch story was the boy's extensive rap sheet.

From what I'm told, Fred had numerous run-ins with the law including aggravated assault of a police officer, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle and possible gang affiliation….all this for a boy who was just a sophomore in High School.

To top it all off, the boy knows the pain of violence all too well since his father was shot to death in 1993.

My point in saying that is this,

There is a cycle of violence going on that's becoming almost too much to bear.

In particular the cycle is affecting our young Black men who I look at today and see are so lost.

Yes, we could go down that tangent and do the typical finger pointing at rap music but truthfully if these men had guidance they would be able to tell the difference between music and reality, instead of blurring the lines like so many of them do.

Don't be like CNN News correspondent Rick Sanchez and label the people responsible for Derrion's death as “unsalvageable.”

"I think there are people out there who could very well be unsalvageable, and maybe we as a society need to start treating them as if they are just that, unsalvageable.”

Instead ask this question, “What can I do to help?”  “How can we save these children?”

These children need guidance and fast.

So who's going to step in and help....and what can we do to rectify this situation?

I can't stand the thought of writing about this violence anymore…..

When police arrived to arrest him, he fled on foot but was soon captured and taken into custody. White was positively identified in a photo lineup.

As previously reported surveillance video shows the fatal shooting of the Fred Couch outside of a Chicago area convenience store. A man is seen leaning outside of a white SUV and firing shots at the victim. That man is believed to be White.

The motive for the killing is still unknown.

White's rap sheet includes numerous arrests and several felonies including a conviction for weapon possession by a felon.

He was released from jail exactly two weeks before the Couch shooting after serving two years of a six year sentence.

A picture of Randall White is below.

16-year-old Fred Couch of Fenger High School  lost his life Wednesday after being gunned down outside of a convenience store.

Surveillance footage outside of a Big Sam's Mini Mart where the incident took place shows Couch in his final moments.

Couch can be seen falling to the ground after being shot and then being shot again by an unidentified man in a white SUV. The young man struggles to get up before collapsing back to the ground a final time.

Another Fenger High School student was injured at the time as well.

Police are investigating the footage but no arrests have been made.

****WARNING**** This footage is graphic and may be found disturbing.

Can someone please tell me what's going on at Fenger High School?!  Please!

This is crazy....

]]> http://hiphopwired.com/2010/01/04/classmate-of-derrion-albert-shot-and-killed-video-included/feed/ 10 http://hiphopwired.com/2009/11/11/david-banner-to-lauch-new-i-phone-application/ http://hiphopwired.com/2009/11/11/david-banner-to-lauch-new-i-phone-application/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:23:38 +0000 Danielle Canada http://hiphopwired.wordpress.com/?p=15026 Levell Crump better known as David Banner, stepped onto the Hip-Hop scene with his gritty lyrics and pleasantly plump figure telling all the “real girls to get down on the flo.” Soon thereafter he shocked the world by dropping several LBs and turning into a fit and trim community activist.

As previously reported Banner acted out after the sad and perilous Derrion Albert beating by organizing a rally in the Chicago community. Now he's lending a helping hand out to the community once again this time by promoting his tips on health and fitness.

Banner is teaming up with fitness company Pump One for a new I-Phone application called “David Banner's Workout or Die.” The new fitness program will feature workout videos of fitness routines David finds helpful.  It will also feature live streams of the new fitness guru available to consumers at no extra charge.

His I-phone application will not be available until early next year.

I see you Banner! Like a pimp….

It was reported earlier that Twista had made a more direct approach by visiting those that were friends of Albert.

With such a heavy influence in the community, it has been in the hands of rap artists to gear these young minds into the right direction and provide positive imagery to show that there is a way to enjoy life without having to resort to violence.

As a Chicago native, rapper Lupe Fiasco recently stepped up to the plate and put it out there that Hip-Hop should take some of the blame.  By promoting such negativity, young listeners only act out what they embrace and the end result has been growing chaos.

Speaking with the Chicago radio station 107.5 WGCI, Fiasco opened up more on how rappers must take notice of what they say.

“Hip-Hop has to take some fault for that.  Just in the fact that the amount of violence and the amount of negativity that's in Hip-Hop and the music, it attributes to so much that goes on, negatively, in the hood.”

He added that another overlying issue is the fact that positivity is not endorsed as heavily in outlets such as the radio.  Oddly enough, people must not want to be lifted and told that there is a better way.

“It lacks entertainment value.  It lacks a certain kind of hype around it. A certain “coolness” about it.  So it doesn't fit on the radio.”

As a positive artist that has been able to rap tales outside of promoting drugs, sex, etc, the rapper also holds some weight on his own shoulders and feels that he should have had more presence.

“It's by example.  I haven't been exercising my celebrity, in a sense, since I've been so laid back.  I kinda feel like it's my fault because I should have been out there doing more.  I have a message and a certain celebrity and certain popularity and I should be exercising that.  Not saying that Rhyme ain't doing it.  Not saying that Twista ain't doing it.  It's just the more, the better.”

In related news, although Fiasco has been off the radar for some time, the “Cool” one has reemerged and has started leaving damage once again in Hip-Hop.  With no mention on MTVs Hottest MCs List this year, Lupe used his gadget flow to get into grind mode with recent freestyles to show that he is still a factor.

“I knew I wasn't going to make it.  I just use that as an excuse to go hard.  Just to beat up on em a little bit.  I knew I didn't have a lot of product out there, but I knew we were setting up to go through this whole Fall and then the top of next year.  We're just gearing up, all that is starting now.”

With his recent performance, Remember the Smile: A Retrospective of Lupe Fiasco, the engines are pushing into 6^th gear as the rapper continues to make a much needed return to the music industry.