Dear Chicago,

In the past few months, I have been compelled to write to you about your homicide experience over the past year. I have wanted to assure you that you do not have to resort to violence for a solution that could be solvable with a face-to-face conversation.

I then thought that it was probably not necessary to do such a thing, because it was apparent that I am just a man, and one voice cannot change a cycle of violence that was started way before 2013. However, as days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, I have seen that you are still going strong on a path to self-destruction. I decided to write to you in hopes of a response.

Why do you feel that you do not matter? Do you feel too economically displaced from mainstream America that in order to be cared about in the current narrative of the public square, you have to resort to such measures? Maybe you believe that to have a voice, you have to destroy the voiceless.

Well, I am here to tell you that it is weak to believe that shooting up random people is somehow showcasing your strength. Reading about stories such as 11-year-old Shamiya Adams, who was at her friend's house eating s'mores and practicing dance routines prior to getting shot by an array of bullets from outside, is unconscionable.

There has always been perpetuation of the narrative of social structures that use an imaginative oppressive "man" that keeps "us" down, but in actuality we use those same stories as a means to not dealing with our own realities. Well, I am here to let you know that it is time to grow up.

Chicago, what is really going on with you? When children are dying left and right for what they don't even know is an attack on their life, you have to sit down and really evaluate why you feel the need to randomly kill your own people from your own communities.

Chicago, you are becoming so violent that you have been given the title of "Chiraq" — and even with that title, you feel vindicated in the justification of the gun violence. You need to wake up and come to the realization that this is not a war zone. As opposed to Iraq, you are a city in the United States of America, bounded by a democratic republic that boasts more than 230 years of existence with the hopes of freedom, liberty and justice.

Instead your are putting yourself in shackles that bound you to an ideology of violence that you showcase day in and day out. How is it that we use to be whipped and chained, but now seem to love driving "whips," wearing chains and occasionally destroy the community in which you rest your head at night?

Chicago, you have to do better. Yes, we understand that there are pressures outside of your control, such as lack of educational opportunity, jobs and resources. However, do you really think that it is justifiable to create an onslaught of violence in your own neighborhoods? Are you really going to legitimize the killings of the innocent and defenseless?

Every time I hear about Chicago from African-American outlets such as NewsOne, I only hear about the names of those who had no play in the violence that were slain on the "battlefield." It is heartbreaking to hear stories of little children having to grow up without a parent when they were just going out to the grocery store or stories of parents kissing their child goodbye unknowing that they will never see their children again.

According to RedEye Chicago, there have been more than 180 homicides related to guns and more than 200 homicides in general in Chicago for 2014 so far. The sad thing is that, statistically, homicides in Chicago are down by 4 percent in comparison to the same time frame in 2013. This is nothing to boast about because every life is precious and no matter the circumstance, violence should never be the answer.

In closing, I want you, Chicago, to understand that even through all your struggles, I am hopeful that things will get better. But for change to amount, you have to deal with your situations internally and take a stand against senseless violence.

When we come full circle if we are truthful with ourselves we will see that the only people who are causing these issues are those in the areas that are affected. Only when they open their eyes and contemplate their actions will they see that there is no excuse for the loss of the lives.