On June 1, 2010, everything in my life changed. Another young man was killed in Baltimore. He was shot to death in front of his father. He went over to his father's house that morning for a visit. He had an argument with some purveyors of chemical substances, and now he is dead. A verbal altercation over nothing ended in another death in the city. The only difference on this day was I knew the guy. This time it wasn't a nameless, faceless Joe-Nobody-Knows kid. This was a 19 year old boy, and I knew him.

He was the father of a beautiful baby girl, and her entire family attends my church. The last time I saw him he was holding his daughter and I was telling him how blessed he was to have such a good little baby. But now she doesn't have a father. They tell me that he had just found a new job and was eagerly awaiting his first day. But now his girlfriend doesn't have his emotional, physical or financial support anymore. So now what?

I have seen people lead candlelight vigils to stop the violence in the city. What happens after the candles go out and we return to the darkness? Or maybe we can lead a march on Baltimore and take back the night from people. Then what? What will make the violence stop and the reformation of our society begin?

I tried not watching the news to escape the violence and to stop what I felt was a system put in place to sensationalize bad behavior. This actually made sense to me. I felt if more people stopped giving notoriety to criminals then maybe they would stop doing negative things. What a fool I was. The violence hasn't stopped. It has actually morphed into an uncontrollable entity that has reached beyond a breaking news report on television and is now sitting outside of my front door. I cannot escape this monster, and I don't think candles and marches are strong enough to kill it.

What can we do to make this violent beast release its grasp on this city? What can we do to always remember how far we have come so that we never slip back into our previous barbaric state?

Maybe if we remember the wonderful things that our fallen Baltimoreans have experienced and we broadcast that information to the masses, it will be harder to pull the trigger after an argument. Maybe we can teach the city how to fight the good fight and then, win or lose, walk away.

His name was Israel James Johnson Jr. He had a beautiful smile, a wonderful spirit, and he lived in Baltimore. He was loved by his father, his girlfriend and all of the friends that knew him at St. Cecilia Church. He loved his little baby girl, and we will make sure that she never forgets him. He was not just another death in the city. He was a handsome, young man. I knew him, and I will miss him.

Dia M. Allmond, Marriottsville