( ESSENCE ) -- Two weeks ago , 3-year-old Jaquan Reed was fatally shot on Chicago , Illinois ' , West Side . Men participate in the Million Father March to support children going to school . While the case shook the city , such shootings involving children are no longer rare in the Windy City . Within the current academic year , 36 Chicago-area students were killed . Essence.com spoke to Phillip Jackson , a well-known political activist in the city and also founder of Black Star Project , a Chicago-based community outreach group , about what is being done to end the senseless shootings involving children . The following is an edited version of that interview : . ESSENCE : There have been so many shootings and deaths . Please tell us what 's happening in Chicago ? ESSENCE : Xerox names Ursula Burns CEO . Phillip Jackson : This is a national catastrophe that is happening while we as a country do nothing . We 're asking for national attention . This is a pandemic . We will not be able to solve this problem in Chicago unless they can solve this same problem in Houston [ Texas ] and other cities . Watch our panelists talk about the growing violence in Chicago » . ESSENCE : The nation 's first black president is from Chicago . And you still do not feel like there is enough attention placed on this problem ? Jackson : Newspapers from all over the world have come to our offices this past week to say , `` What is happening in President Barack Obama 's backyard ? '' And 75 percent of the children murdered here in Chicago happened within eight miles of President Obama 's former house . So if he does n't respond as president , and we are hoping he does , he needs to respond as a resident . ESSENCE : What has been the police response ? Jackson : They 've put together a 400-unit gang SWAT team . They 're trying to match guns with the gangs . But with all of that they ca n't stop one murder because they 're approaching it from the wrong way . ESSENCE : Obama 's time in office . ESSENCE : What is the right way to approach it ? Jackson : Instill strong families and strong communities . Build strong parenting groups . Do you know what has been the best mentoring organization in the United States of America ? Street gangs . ESSENCE : In other cities , where there is a lot of gang violence , like Baltimore [ Maryland ] , there are regular people in the community coming together and trying to fix it . What are regular people doing about this in Chicago ? Jackson : First of all , they 're raising their voices . Number two , they 're rallying , they 're marching , and they 're organizing . That 's what this effort is going to take . Number three , they 're engaging in recreational programs . ESSENCE : Toledo cops say teen provoked them . So there is more happening at the grassroots level than at the federal level . But those people can not succeed without support . And that 's why we 're asking President Obama to bring his resources . ESSENCE : What is the mind-set of Chicago youth with all of these horrendous acts of violence occurring ? Jackson : Hopelessness , desperation , anger . They live in America . They see how America takes care of the whole world but wo n't take care of them in the communities in which they live .
Essence speaks to political activist in Chicago about children 's deaths . 36 Chicago-area students killed in current academic school year . 75 percent of children killed within 8 miles of President Obama 's former house . Comment: