Sunday, May 11, 2008

Speaking Truth: Town Hall Meeting on Violence

This special aired on channel 2 last night. I didn't watch the whole program but such luminaries as Ald. Bob Fioretti, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Father Michael Pfleger, police superintendent Jody Weis, & CPS Board of Education Chair Rufus Williams. This meeting was held at Kennedy-King College on 63rd & Halsted. This was jointly convened by Channel 2 with their sister radio station WBBM 780 AM.

I would like to provide a quote but of course this is about violence so I want to avoid as much of that here as possible. I may give some thoughts over at my other blog.

In cities across the country as well as rural towns, neighborhoods have fallen on hard times, businesses have left, and residents have sunken into poverty.

The Englewood neighborhood is one such area. The neighborhood was once a rail hub with manufacturing, and street after street of thriving businesses. But that changed many years ago, and police say where this poverty and unemployment, there is also violence.

The Little Village neighborhood on the Near Southwest Side also suffers from extreme poverty.

"So many times, we have to choose between eating or paying a doctor's visit, and many times we have to suffer with certain illnesses instead of paying the doctor," said Felipe Cabran.

Cabran is convinced the poverty that overshadows Little Village is connected to another problem -- the violence that is ripping the neighborhood apart.

Experts say research shows the poorest communities are also the deadliest.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said job opportunities were vital to combat poverty.

"Why do we start putting an emphasis on summer jobs -- which is like a month or two of jobs -- when we need on the South Side of Chicago full time, career jobs and career opportunities on the South Side of Chicago?" Jackson said. "I represent some communities where there are 60 people for every one job."

The need for strong family structures was also pinpointed as vital to preventing violence before it starts. As the father of a 4 1/2 month old daughter, Tyrone Forman worries about violence. As a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he knows a major cause.

"When the family structure falls apart, I think what happens oftentimes is that something seeps in to fill that gap," Forman said. "People find peer networks are in any way gang-related, you worry about the kids being socialized into the behavior which leads to the kind of gun violence that we're seeing today."

But when the family breaks down, many community centers step up to provide a home away from home, and many say more of them are needed in the communities that struggle most.

A need for strong education is also often highlighted. The Chicago Tribune reported a 44 percent high school dropout rate among Chicago Public Schools.

CPS President Rufus Williams said the dropout rate was unacceptable.

"We need to first focus on education. The truth is the instances that we're talking about are young people on young people, and it's getting younger and younger every year. We know that our short-term and long-term solution is education." Williams said.

Furthermore, Williams said, schools are safe for youngsters.

"We know that our schools are safe. When you look at the statistics of what's happening with children, it does not happen during the time in which they're in school. What we need is an opportunity to have them in school for longer," Williams said.
I should add that there are video clips over to the left on the link I provided so in addition to reading the whole thing give those clips a watch. I may not have agreed with everything that was said, but there are certainly issues that needs to be addressed. The question might be however what's the best way to solve the problem.

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