It should have been like any other Thursday, but April 4 will forever be a horrible anniversary for those who loved Brenda Worship. The 34-year-old mother of was five shot to death in Chicago during a robbery, as two of her daughters watched.

According to her sister, Ms. Worship was murdered as she pleaded for her life. When one of the girls ran and got her father, who tried to intervene, he was shot in the leg.

The death of Ms. Worship is another painful reminder that the Black community is under siege from within and needs to face up to the problem. It is time for us to stop the violence that we inflict on one another. An outsider didn�t kill Ms. Worship; a young Black man shot her to death.

In recent days, several children were injured when a group of students marched from their middle school, armed with pipes, sticks and bottles, and attacked "rival" children at a nearby school. It was an event that was played out on national media for several days.

These are just a few recent tragedies in Chicago; other losses occur daily across the country. While we watch in horror the violence occurring among Israelis and Palestinians on a daily basis, we must not forget that we have a lot of work to do here at home in our own communities. When second graders resort to violence to settle differences, as happened in the school incident, then the next step is babies coming out of the womb with intent to harm others.

We must put a stop to the violence. And that means we must accept the challenge to fight battles on several fronts. It means confronting the racism and oppression that breeds frustration, crime and violence. It means confronting the lack of opportunity, inferior education and joblessness. It means digging deep within ourselves and connecting with that spiritual lifeline that gives us purpose in living.

Stopping the violence means making a commitment to raise our children properly, with the values that helped us survive the darkest days of slavery, lynchings and nightriders. Parents can�t leave it to television or schools to raise their offspring. We can�t even leave it to the "village" to help raise our children if we�re not going to be productive participants in the village.

The media loves it when a very small percentage of Blacks act out the pain of the frustration of oppression. It gives the media an excuse to continue the mass portrayal of the negative stereotypes of Black life, much of which we buy into ourselves�the gangsta bravado of hip hop and the demeaning portrayal of Black females; the vulgar comedy shows that have us laughing out of our seats at the negative false images of ourselves�the modern-day Amos and Andies.

A recent study, in fact, showed that the more a child watched television violence raised the possibility that the child would act out that violence. Our children are watching too much television violence. Their senses are being deadened to the reality of the pain that violence produces.

It takes parents to translate and explain these images for their children. The men in our community must stand up and be responsible for the children they produce. Stop leaving the women alone to fight for themselves and our children.

A strong male figure in a child�s life goes a long way in assuring that the child will jump over many of the hurdles in life. Youth must be taught that violence has devastating consequences. Youth must be taught respect.

Black America has come a long way through the most violent history that any people ever on earth have confronted. Yet, we survive because we never let go of the hand of the God who brought us through it all.

We�ve come too far to let His hand go now. Let�s grab our children�s hands and take them out of this deviant culture that is killing not only Black America, but America period.

"...Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."