Even odds introduction

For decades minority youth have been exposed to violence and faced with the thresholds that plague the inner cities in America. In the article Even Odds by Jill Tucker the author gives her readers a chilling reality check. Stating that African American males living in Oakland, CA are more likely to be killed by gun violence than to graduate from high school. The statistics are alarming and the death of a young black male only results in one life cut short at the hand of another.
  At times the future seems bleak and the only thing that seems remotely tangible is getting an education. Schools which are the main driving force behind motivation, opportunity and refuge can forever change who you are and where you are going. Shaping an identity around your environment can manifest through actions only by not perpetuating the cycle allows these young people to see freedom in the form of knowledge as way out.