It's a sad day when tragedy begets tragedy. Last week, 28-year-old Terrance Shurn, a black Benton Harbor resident, was killed in a high-speed chase with white police officers from a neighboring city, Benton Township.

Benton Harbor residents responded by setting fire to about 21 houses and attacking police officers for two nights. While residents in this depressed west Michigan city of 12,000 people needed a voice, expressing it through rioting is not the way to speak to city officials and the rest of the state.

The Michigan State Police are investigating the motorcycle incident, and in the meantime, Benton Harbor residents hopefully will find a better way to express their troubles.

Benton Harbor is among the state's poorest cities. It is surrounded by cities which are predominately white and wealthy. Racial tensions were running high and something was bound to happen.

It's tragic the result was violence. Even Shurn's brother Raynard Shurn begged residents to stop rioting. "I cannot support the destruction of property because of the pain and frustration we all feel," he said.

There's always a more intelligent solution than violence. But even though riots won't bring back Terrance Shurn, Benton Harbor residents have a voice that needs to be heard.

They claim to be unfairly targeted by police of the richer surrounding communities.

A better course of action would be, however less intense, to appeal to the Benton Harbor City Council or petition their representatives in government for legislation that would aid them in their plight.

Unfortunately, being from a poor community, residents might feel they have no other choice than to do something drastic in order to get attention.

The reality of the matter, however, is Benton Harbor wants to tell the world how it feels. Years ago, the city was well-off with industries and plenty of jobs. Now residents suffer from a 25 percent unemployment rate. Desperate people resort to desperate measures, and these riots are the sign of a bigger problem. It just took a motorcycle crash to ignite the people.

The city needs help from the state to jump start its economy and make Benton Harbor a decent place to live and work. But two wrongs don't make a right, and people don't need to riot to make themselves heard.

Just look at the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. led a large group of people in nonviolent demonstrations, based on the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi. The movement resulted in the 1968 Civil Rights Act, outlawing discrimination based on race and a number of other factors. While the struggles are different, the way to accomplish social change is the same.

Maybe Benton Harbor residents need a leader like King or Gandhi to help them get the social equality they deserve.

The rioting in the community of Benton Harbor only hurt its quest to be heard. With a high unemployment rate and civil unrest, the city needs help from both state and it's local officials.