Page 9 - Mark Chicago News Today

Music is is always a voice for the streets so my last stop is a legendary blues club in chicago where malik accomplished something that was once thought to be impossible. he got two gangs, old school do or die crew and old school. if youre just tuning in, im dr. cornell west. do these guys all know each other? >> not really. >> they all know owe? >> yeah. >> but dont know each other? >> not really. >> is that anything that can lead to an issue? >> yeah, definitely. >> okay. all right. even thoug...

Slow down, well address that later. but first. following the killing of trayvon martin in 2012, three activists, started a hashtag, black lives matter. they had this crazy idea that, i dont know, maybe it shouldnt be cool to kill black people for no reason. it sparked a movement. for some reason polarizing debate. polarizing for some people because for them, shouldnt it be all lives matter? have you heard the phrase black lives matter? >> yeah. >> what do you think about it? >> i dont know if it...

>> can you kind of tell me a little bit? >> what you said is true. all lives should matter. but right now, but not right now. to many people -- because all lives dont really matter in the same way. and then all lives matter is like an aspirational goal. white people, learn from her. >> i love the black lives matter movement. >> see. >> i think its important. and i think -- i wish there was more a focus on education. >> well, lady who was such a big fan of the show pulled her car over so she can ...

Street, about three blocks. >> outside of chicago people talk about gangs. they dont know who they are, what the names are, how many there are. >> yeah, youve definitely got the stones from right here, the gds, the vice lords, obviously the vd, which is the black disciples. black gangsters, gangster disciples, black p stones, the latin kings, spanish disciples, mickey cobras, spanish cobras, you got the popes, all these different factions. >> yeah, what gang were you? >> 12, blackstone. ever sin...

>> i cant even reach out to you straight. 45 straight there. >> what do you think people need know about what is going on on the south side of chicago? >> its a lot going on. we just talk to about 7 or 8 youngsters now and it came across to me, as well to others that were with me, that were reaching out, but the younger generation is not reaching back out to us. theyre stuck into what theyre doing. somewhere we failed them. >> we failing -- that one that i failed, that be the [ bleep ] that kill...

Which is somewhat different than a lot of major cities. >> hyper segregation. >> yeah. >> what is that -- i lived here. i think i get what that means. >> some cities are more progressive, somehow further along in the intellectual thought process of inclusiveness and diversity. chicago reminds us that is not the case. >> in chicago is it a sense its happening, not a reason its happening? put on people, theyre just sort of violent. >> right. one of the things i try to talk to people about is the h...

Up for the teachers union, are you just supporting the black teachers? [ laughter ] >> look, all teachers matter, all right? [ laughter ] >> all right, all right. there is a real reason there is so much focus on the youth here. out of the 762 deaths in 2016, 75% were black. but 51% of those were people under the age of 25. hi. >> hi. >> if there is someone i absolutely need to talk to about this problem, its diane latiker, a woman doing everything she can to put names to these horrific numbers. ...

After a day of visiting one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in chicago, its time to do one of my favorite things, hanging out with people who make me feel stupid. im meeting with dr. javon johnson at the sweet cafe. he is a poet, author and professor of race and gender studies. his most recent book is a collection of writings on kids from the south side of chicago telling their own stories. the doctor agreed to school me on the current situation. talk to me a little about the term chiraq. fo...

Segregated, im going to go ahead and bring my copy of the 13th amendment. do people talk about the notorious neighborhoods of chicago the south side and the west side? >> not really. >> so, why do you think those neighborhoods are so much worse? >> lower income, lower development, no jobs. >> yeah, and those seem to be the black neighborhoods. >> theyre not the white neighborhoods. i actually used to work over there. police would stop, id catch the bus. the police would stop and ask me if i need...

Violence. there were 162 homicides. more than los angeles and new york combined. these numbers led to chicagos all too depressing nickname chi rack. which makes it sound like its not in america any more. this narrative being too dangerous to live in purses me off. as many in the media, sorry, cnn, are painting this city with one big scary black brush, when in fact like all cities with crime problems, the violence is coming from very specific areas with very specific reasons, and in chicago its t...