The Talbert Memorial Fund

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On October 27, 1997, Russell Talbert III lost his life to gun violence at the age of 21. Twenty years later, on August 30, 2017, his nephew, Jalen Talbert, lost his life to the same senseless act of gun violence.

 

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While heartbreaking for the Talbert family, this story is too common for black families living in and directly outside of Chicago. Both Russell and Jalen, like many young men, had promising futures and aspirations they will never realize. Both Russell and Jalen, like many other men had loving families, an education, jobs, responsibilities and big hearts. Both Russell and Jalen, like many other men are not nameless, faceless, worthless members of society. They are not a statistic.

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The cycle has to stop. The cycle of violence and also cycles of pain and heartbreak the violence leaves behind must stop. To that end, the Talbert Family is joining forces with the Yetunde Price Resource Center (YPRC) created by Venus and Serena Williams, to honor their late sister, also taken by senseless gun violence.

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To honor their lives we have created a partnership with the Yetunde Price Resource Center.  YPRC was created by Venus and Serena Williams and their family and is named for their late sister, also taken by an act of senseless violence.  The Center, based in Compton, CA assists victims of senseless violence by ensuring they have access to all the resources that will help heal them physically, emotionally and financially.  The Center also  creates original programming when there is an unfilled need within the community.

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The Talbert Memorial Fund will work with experts to create a curriculum specifically designed to work with young men of color who feel suffocated by the cycle of violence and what they see as bleak options for their future.  This work will begin off site in Chicago and on site at the Center in Compton.