A recent installment of This American Life takes a closer look at the crisis of gun violence in Chicago’s South and West Sides. following the lives of faculty and students immersed in the systemic obstacles that create and perpetuate the violence that is robbing us of our youth.
Chuck D: “The bottom line is this: Back when I was growing up, you couldn’t find a gun on anybody. Since 1980, the beginning of R&B, Reagan and Bush, there’s been nothing but guns and drugs in the Black community for the last 30-some-odd years.”
Cleopatra Cowley – mother of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton – is featured in a new gun control ad; she specifically cites universal background checks as a necessary, commonsense reform. Do you agree? What other reforms would you like to see?
The President’s visit was one moment in a longer struggle to radically improve the lives of black and Latino youth. Now that the President has come and gone we all have work to do!
18 year-old Janay Mcfarlane was shot and killed the same day her sister sat behind President Obama as he addressed the crisis of gun violence
Featured on NPR program Tell Me More, Aisha and Chris discuss their experiences as young people growing up in Chicago, the systemic challenges young people face, and what they’d like to hear from President Obama tomorrow. Check it out!
We urge the President to go further on Friday during his time in Chicago, and make a substantive speech that addresses the underlying factors that perpetuate violence in Black and Latino communities across the nation.
BYP is pleased to report that President Obama will visit Chicago this Friday to address a variety topics, but will shine a particular spotlight on Chicago’s gun violence crisis.
3 year-old Temorej Smith fatally shot himself after playing with a pink gun he thought was a toy. What a tragic, totally preventable situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Temorej’s family at his incredibly difficult time. Rest in Peace, Temorej.
At a march in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and other civic leaders, implored President Obama to use his voice and influence to lead a national conversation on the crisis of gun violence in his hometown.
The government of Uruguay has remixed the gun buy back program. The new program, called Weapons for Life, allows Uruguayans to receive things like bicycles and computers in exchange for turning in their guns. Kind of an amazing idea, right?
54 year-old Shirley Chambers never expected to outlive all four of her children. On January 26th, her fourth child – 33 year-old Ronnie Chambers – was shot to death while sitting in a parked car.
