Our community has been captivated by the Starz docu-series, “America to Me.” But I haven’t watched the show myself. Not because it isn’t interesting; rather, I didn’t watch it because racism and racial achievement gaps in Oak Park are topics I have been writing, talking, and fighting about since my husband and I decided not to place our children in…
Tag: African American
Killing Black Children on The Front End and On the Back
Two major news announcements were made in Chicago on Friday. And I find a striking and sickening parallel between them. The first piece of buried news was the release of the available video of the shooting of an unarmed, 18-year-old Black “man” last week at the hands of a Chicago Police officer. The second was the announcement that 480 Chicago…
This Far By Faith
“We’ve come this far by faith…” These are the first words of one of the great Negro spirituals that has been passed down through the African-American tradition. It is one of the songs that guided my predecessors through the tumultuous Civil Rights era. It harkens back to the deep darkness of American slavery and reminds us of the motivating force by which we overcame…