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After talking about the life and shooting death of 15 year-old Hadiya Pendleton today, and Chicago’s culture of youth violence, we got this message from Jacqui Shine:
Every day I work in public and charter high schools across Chicago and see firsthand what a criminalized childhood looks like: metal detectors at entrances that signal distrust of students, police satellite offices, uniformed officers with weapons. (Charter schools, interestingly, don’t seem to have a POLICE presence, just security. Not sure why.) Public schools in Chicago are crawling with cops: with over 1500 security staff and 150+ uniformed police officers in the Chicago Public Schools who arrest over 25 students a day, CPS have become crime scenes that especially target children and adolescents of color. Are we criminalizing childhood? Why? You might talk to Mariame Kaba and Frank Edwards, who authored a 2012 report for Project NIA, “Policing Chicago Public Schools.”
And we say, thanks for the tip, Jacqui! For real, this is always part of Vocalo’s editorial procedure: you telling us what to do. We’ll reach out to Ms. Kaba.
And PS: Hadiya’s murder is getting the attention that we wish all homicide cases of young people would get. RIP, bright baby.
As Obama announces proposals for national gun control measures today, a new NRA ad is taking the organization’s rhetoric to new levels, calling out President Obama’s “hypocrisy” in letting his children be protected by armed guards. (Which, for the record, the Secret Service provides security which he would probably be unable to legally refuse.)
Megan Bertasson speaks powerfully and emotionally at TEDxYork University in Toronto on the political power of storytelling.
(via karnythia)
“Selector” is a Pitchfork.tv show in which we interview rappers and watch them freestyle over beats. We often try to conduct these shows in unusual locations, and several months ago we interviewed Chief Keef at a gun range in New York City. This concept was rushed and never should have happened. We’re proud of the “Selector” series as a whole and its production will continue, but this particular episode was insensitive and irresponsible.
Pitchfork’s roots are in Chicago and many of our employees and several contributors live in the city. The horror of the gun violence that has plagued our hometown is something we all take very seriously. Many people have pointed out that this episode could be seen as trivializing gun violence, and we feel they have a good point.
Given recent news regarding the shooting of Chicago rapper Lil Jojo and the investigation of people involved in Chicago’s rap scene, this seems like the right time to express our regrets regarding that episode. We apologize for this mistake and have removed the video from our archives.
For your Monday morning cry, WBEZ covers Chicago’s youth violence epidemic with more than a passing glance.
