Page 18 - Mark Chicago News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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 it's happening, not a reason it's happening? put on people, they're just sort of violent. >> right. one of the things i try to talk to people about is the historical reasons how some of these things came to be. certainly poverty is one of those, and pov...

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, it's diane latiker, a woman doing everything she can to put names to these horrific numbers. first, tell me where we're at right now. >> we're in the memorial tribute to young people killed by...

After a day of visiting one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in chicago, it's time to do one of my favorite things, hanging out with people who make me feel stupid. i'm 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. for most people it is a spike lee movie. >> i don't think we can fully pinpoint exactly where it cam...

Segregated, i'm 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. >> they're not the white neighborhoods. i actually used to work over there. police would stop, i'd catch the bus. the police would stop and ask me if i needed a ride because i was in the wrong neighborhood. >> really? i don't think i would surprise you ...

Violence. there were 162 homicides. more than los angeles and new york combined. these numbers led to chicago's all too depressing nickname chi rack. which makes it sound like it's 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 it's the south side and the west side. while there are many factors to this, one thing that shouldn't b...