What we’re reading this week: April 6th
This week, we’re reading about Rahm’s new schemes, how extreme wealth buys out our democracy, and how students are standing up for their communities across the city. Rahm Emanuel should drop his absurd CPS graduation scheme and fund public education : The...
Criminalizing Mental Illness
New research is emerging that further emphasizes how important public resources and social services are to our Chicago neighborhoods. A study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities highlights the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder...
Just how much sanctuary does Chicago provide for undocumented students?
The US Department of Justice has confirmed what we’ve known to be true in Chicago: the Chicago Police Department consistently uses unreasonable and deadly force against communities of color with little accountability. These findings come from a DOJ report that states,...
The Continuing Legacy of Segregation
One thing is certain, however, that when mourners gathered around the family’s home shortly after the tragic shooting, they were greeted by an angry group of flag waving white men who shouted racial obscenities and told the mourners to get out of “their” community.
Young Black Organizers Demand New City
Laquan McDonald was 17 years young when he was executed by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. The fatal details surrounding his murder have put Chicago front and center for questions around police conduct, competence, and corruption among the city’s officials. Young Black organizers across the city are demanding a complete restructuring of how Chicago is governed and funded.
Community Resources, Not More Incarceration
Chicago Police Department superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired by Mayor Emanuel last Tuesday, after protesters have been demanding it for months. Back in October, members of the Black Caucus of the city council demanded his replacement because crime is still...
The Loveless Age of Schooling
…I realized I was not following my own advice in sharing my authentic voice with my students. How could I open the year without talking about my mission as an educator to bring love back into schooling? So the next morning I stood before parents and a classroom of third graders talking about love.
Mike Brown Means We’ve Got to Fight Back: 1 Year Later
Mike Brown’s life had become an equation; a sum of his respectable parts minus any mainstream missteps to determine his right to equality. Four and a half hours left in the street gave view to an enduring truth in America…
Children Murdered at the Hands of the Legal System
A Just Chicago reports on the educational damage suffered by children whose parents are incarcerated. It discusses the disproportionately high suspension rates of Black students, and the “school to prison pipeline”. A more gruesome aspect of the racist injustice system is the murder of children, particularly Black children, at the hands of the police and the courts.
