Hon. M.T. Thompson, Jr. & Prof. Monica R. Nuckolls
This is Volume I of a two book drug education and crime prevention program designed specifically for distressed communities with a youth crime problem. Volume II is entitled Making Choices And Facing Consequences: Drugs And Alcohol.
The stories in this book are based on true incidents. They involve children and young adults from the same type of communities and backgrounds as the children and young adults we are trying to reach.
The stories revolve around:
1. the short-term benefits of gang membership versus the long-term consequences and how all gang members eventually end up hurt, dead or in prison;
2. the benefits of saying no to gangs and drugs, staying in school and working hard;
3. violent crimes committed by young adults who failed to stop and consider all of the potential consequences of their actions before they took them;
4. bullying and the potential consequences of taking a gun to school; and
5. sexual assault and domestic violence and why it is never acceptable to inappropriately touch someone or resort to violence when things don't go your way.
Each story builds to a point of importance and then presents the character(s) with one or more critical choices. Good choices have good consequences. Bad choices have bad consequences. The choices have urgency and meaning for the young reader who faces the same choices on a daily basis. Working through these real life situations will improve the readers decision making skills when it comes to gangs, bullies and violent crimes.
M.T. Thompson, Jr. was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. He has lost family and friends to gangs, drugs and violence. He knows what a distressed community looks like not just from the top down, but also from the bottom up. He understands the dynamics of the streets and has successfully faced the same types of problems, challenges and temptations as the children and young adults this book is designed to reach.
Judge Thompson is a graduate of Oakland University and Northeastern University School of Law. During the past thirty years, he has served as a prosecutor, defense attorney and district court judge. His life experiences make him uniquely qualified to co-author this book. Judge Thompson and his wife Ivory have two daughters, Felica L. Scott and Monica R. Nuckolls and four grandchildren.
Monica R. Nuckolls is a Professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She has previously worked as a trial attorney at two of Michigan’s largest law firms. She graduated with honors from Michigan State University. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Professor Nuckolls is married to Korey Nuckolls and is the mother of two sons. She has also lost family and friends to gangs, drugs and violence. She is determined to make America better and keep America strong. She is determined to stand tall, defend liberty and answer the people’s cry for justice.
FOREWORD: IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD
Once upon a time there was a family that was asleep in a burning hut in the middle of a small village. All the other villagers were scrambling around trying desperately to put the fire out, or break through the wall of flames and rescue the sleeping family. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn’t get through the wall of fire that had encircled the hut and it looked like the end had finally come for the sleeping family. At that point, one of the village elders walked up and said, “why don’t you wake them up and let them save themselves?”
Our hut is on fire today in certain distressed communities. The flames of gangs, crime, violence, drugs, and low school achievement are threatening to consume our entire village. We have family and friends on the outside who would help us if they could, but they can’t get through the flames of crime, violence and other destructive behavior that have encircled our community. We have no choice! It’s time to wake up and save ourselves.
You can’t save a community from the outside in, you have to save it from the inside out. We have to assume and accept responsibility for our own destiny. It’s our hut that is on fire. We have to impose some new rules of conduct in our community. We have to adopt some new and higher standards. Standards that make it clear that we simply will no longer tolerate gangs, drugs, crime, violence, or second rate performance in any aspect of our personal or professional lives.
The formula for stopping the violence and saving our children is simple. We must give them unconditional love, character training, and expose them to positive role models and positive influences. If we want peace in the streets, we must also have:
1. A comprehensive crime prevention effort in our schools which includes a parental involvement component;
2. Meaningful educational and job options as an alternative to gangs, drugs and crime;
3. Safe, healthy recreation for our children;
4. A fully staffed, professional police force which understands the different socio-cultural perspectives of the community it serves; and
5. A criminal justice system that all of our citizens can believe in.
It still takes an entire village to raise a child.
