How can one have hope if he cannot dream? How can one dream if he cannot rest? How can one rest if he is surrounded by gun-violence and trauma?

Too many boys live in communities that have been besieged by gun-violence.

Too many boys have been awakened in the middle of the night by the crackling sounds of gunfire and the anguished screams of mourning mothers.

Too many boys have sauntered by the jersey-draped caskets of their friends. Cartoon caricatures have been replaced by tributary t-shirts that iconize friends whose dreams have been snuffed out by unsympathetic bullets.

Every child deserves the right to dream.