MURDER RATE: WHEN CHAINS TALK
Published Thursday, April 27, 2006 – (view excerpt below)
Here are some of Burney’s suggestions on what can be done for youth to help reduce violence that leads to murder:
- Encourage the faith community to “get out of their comfort zones” and reach out to youths who seem unreachable.
- Adopt schools and provide mentoring, tutoring and motivational speaking.
- Work with schools to provide free counseling sessions for children who chronically misbehave.
- Host intergenerational activities in neighborhoods.
- Alert police about community drug houses and crime hot spots.
- Talk to men about the importance and responsibility of being a father.
- Expose to youth the fallacies of a “gangster” culture that glorifies violence, drugs and random sex while downplaying consequences.
- Lobby politicians to maintain or boost funding for truancy prevention and other programs for at-risk youth.
Burney’s book offers valuable insights on how our community can make progress on a serious problem.
Jacksonville.com > Read full story
FIVE CHEERS: GOVERNMENT CHECKUP
The hard life lessons of youth offenders can have an invaluable impact on teens.
That’s why Duval County School Board member Betty Burney’s book, If These Chains Could Talk, is such a worthy investment.
It will cost $10 per copy to get the book into the curriculum for Duval’s more than 20,000 eighth- and ninth- grade students.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office recently pledged $25,000 of forfeited and confiscated drug money toward that end.
The Jacksonville Children’s Commission donated $1,000.
More donations are needed.
There are many poignant entries in the book, including this one from Josh L.
“I was trying to fit in with older people and that is what got me here at age 13 for first-degree murder and armed robbery. I wish I would have stayed in school and listened to my grandmother.”
TURNING LIVES AROUND
This city needs every mentoring program it can get, especially programs that can be expected to directly affect Jacksonville’s high murder rate.
That is why state Sen. Tony Hill and School Board member Betty Burney are proposing a mentoring program that targets young black males, a group in this city that can be described as in a crisis.
Statistics don’t lie:
- High school graduation rates for African-Americans in Duval County are at 54 percent.
- Dropout rates for blacks in Jacksonville are almost double the state average (7.3 percent here vs. 4.1 percent in the state.)
Hill would like Jacksonville to model a mentoring program after 5000 Role Models of Excellence, begun in Miami-Dade County. Its motto is “Men guiding boys to manhood.”
More than 6,500 mentors, mostly African-American, have joined as mentors since it was started in 1993 at the urging of Frederica Wilson, then a member of the Miami-Dade School Board, now a member of the Florida Senate.
YOUNG CRIMINALS’ STORIES CALLED PEER PRESSURE ON STEROIDS’
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Community leaders gathered Tuesday on the spot where a 13-year-old boy was shot walking home from a high school football game last month. They met to unveil a new book aimed at stopping such violence. “If These Chains Could Talk” is written by young people in trouble with the law, collected and published by Duval County school board member Betty Burney.”As I’m writing to you this letter, I am looking out the window and I see freedom,” Jimmy C. wrote in the book. “I am on the 6th floor of the Duval County Jail. I am 17 years old, charged as an adult for first-degree murder.” The editor said the book is unique in that the authors are all young and all admitted to committing serious crimes — many involving guns and violence.
“They have what I call peer pressure on steroids,” Burney said. Joseph Wise, Duval County superintendent of schools, and other school leaders believe so much in the power of these words, they want to put a copy in the hands of thousands of middle-school students.” (It’s) powerful because it’s a Jacksonville school board member, Jacksonville students — many who are still in the juvenile justice system — and Jacksonville students learning from those who’ve chosen some things with very bad consequences,” Wise said.
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
WJXT Editorial by John Rafferty, Aired December 8, 2006
It is time for some Thumbs Up and some Thumbs Down.Thumbs Down to the crooks who are stealing holiday decorations. Talk about modern day grinches…get a life. But Thumbs Up to efforts by the Duval County Schoolboard to punish parents who habitually drop their kids off at school late or pick them up early, because it “fits their schedule”. Administrators are trying to crack down on these problem parents. And Thumbs Up to School board member Betty Burney, who is trying to get an important “anti-crime” message out to our children. She has written a book called, “If These Chains Could Talk”, which contains letters written by juvenile offenders warning others of the consequences of getting in trouble. The goal is to have 10,000 copies printed to use in Duval County middle schools.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
If These Chains Could Talk was nominated the book of the month at several middle and high schools throughout the United States.
There are two separate curricula that is customized for different age groups. One for middle school students and the other is currently used throughout Duval County Schools for struggling high school students 2-3 levels below in reading; as well as those challenged with anger management, critical thinking, and problem solving.
Many students who are mandated to take the Talking Chains curriculum have Class 3 and Class 4 offenses before they are expelled or transition to an alternative school. The Duval County Hearing Officer, Bea Lewis, uses “If These Chains Could Talk” curriculum as an intervention and crime prevention program.
For testimonials click here >
YOUTH IMPRISONMENT: TIME FOR A CHANGE
This series introduces young people to the incarceration systems of North America and the world. The real-life experiences of prison employees, inmates, and inmates’ families are sensitively presented to educate readers about the incarceration system’s role in society, the realities of prison life, the effects of incarceration, and the moral issues surrounding this indispensible yet controversial social system. Artwork by a prison artist is included in the books’ design, as well as full-color photographs on every spread.
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Youth in Prison -
(The United States leads the world in the number of incarcerated people.)
GILBERT ALUMNI HONORED AT GRAND REUNION
Article written by the Florida Star
This year’s Matthew W. Gilbert Grand Reunion was again an outstandingly fabulous affair. Held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the Grand Reunion is more like a family reunion than a school reunion. This was the 11th Annual Event. Chairpersons Curtis Roberts and Mrs. Patricia Butler Dobson did a tremendous job! The OLE GILBERT SPIRIT was resounding!!
Presiding at the 11th Grand Reunion was The Honorable Larry B. Seabrook. The Honorable Seabrook, along with being the brother of Duval County School Board immediate past chairperson Mrs. Betty Seabrook Burney, was the 1st black to represent the Bronx 82nd District and is the only black to have served in three areas of government as New York State Assemblyman, New York State Senate and currently New York City Councilman. Councilman Seabrook organized the recent Jacket/Ring and Recognition Luncheon, honoring the accomplishments of the 1958 Matthew W. Gilbert Statewide Championship Football Team and Coaches.
Each year, the first weekend of the New Year, the Matthew W. Gilbert Grand Reunion brings together its principals, teachers, staff, and students who were there from 1952-1970. It is a marvelous event. The members of the class of 1959, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their high school graduation, each wore corded tassels in their school’s colors. The 2009 Legend Honorees were: Mesdames Deborah Mosley orman and Eddie Lois Farmer Pugh. The 2009 Humanitarian Award Honorees were Mrs. Almetya Johnson Lodi and Coach athaniel Washington!
We await the12th Grand Reunion that begins on the first Saturday January 2010. We will see you then!
AN INTENSIVE READING COURSE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Betty’s book is the hottest read in our classroom libraries. If These Chains Could Talk is real and relevant to the students served by the STRIVE program, an intensive reading course for high school students. The stories are thought provoking and allow students to peek into the world of students who have made bad decisions in life.
The STRIVE motto is, “Think, Create, Share,” and after reading Mrs. Burney’s book, students created multimedia projects to share the issues with their peers. Students in other classes observed the presentations and the excitement spread throughout the schools. Teachers from other classes started to request copies of If These Chains Could Talk for their classrooms.
Simply put, If These Chains Could Talk is engaging and motivating. This book is a “must have” for any secondary teacher.
TALKING CHAINS FOR CLINICAL THERAPY
Good morning Mrs. Burney,
I am Andrea Ashby, (Wilma & Alfred Austin’s daughter). I, along with Patricia Mays, am working with the Student Option for Success Program (S.O.S.) at Raines High School. We meet in the evenings with primary and secondary students who have repeatedly violated the Student Code of Conduct. Their parents choose to bring their children to the 6-session S.O.S. program rather than enrolling them in an alternative school. (The parents must attend each session with their child.)
We discuss making positive choices in an interactive group setting. Your book, “If These Chains Could Talk” is absolutely perfect for these youth because all of them deal with the same issues as the inmates. I have only been working with the program for a month; however, I feel that it would be more helpful to incorporate passages from your book with our lessons. Therefore, I would like to know how I may purchase more copies of the book. Also, since our program continuously rotates and new students enroll at various times throughout the school year, I would like to know if I may have permission to copy one or two pages of your book. I would like to offer handouts for the students to keep as a reference.
Thank you for all you have done for our children, including contributing to the success of myself and AJ. Andrea M. Ashby, School Psychologist Duval County Public Schools EE/SS K-8 West Cluster – #75A (904) 693-7942
Betty Seabrook Burney represents District 5 and joined the Duval County School Board in November 2004. She is a Raines High School graduate, holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University. Currently, Ms. Burney is an education consultant for TPG, Inc., and Seabrook and Associates. She is a member of the NAACP Education Committee, Wayman Chapel AME Church and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. 
Discuss "If These Chains Could Talk"
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