The Violence Project

The paper of record brought its attention to the second city with a recent article on the deaths of Chicago students and the steps being taken to prevent more deaths from happening. It offers a very detailed overview for those who might not be familiar with the story, but ultimately stakes out familiar territory. We get the impassioned quotes from schools CEO Arne Duncan and Mayor Daley, balance from an expert and community resident, and, last but not least, a student. In the end, the article asks nothing or challenges the reader or those being interviewed. I felt led on by the beginning of the article because I thought the focus of the article would stay with the community groups who are escorting Crane Technical High School students to school, but by paragraph four it had already moved on. Left out again is the fact that many of these shooters and gang members are as young as the victims or/and drop outs. Left out again is the mention of students trying to organize and lead in their communities, rather standing idle as politicians and other leaders do the talking. Left out again are more community groups and churches who are marching and leaving their doors open late to save those on both sides of the gun. Not given enough depth is the issue of poverty and outside factors that are at the root of this violence.

Props to CLTV and Alexander Russo for shining a different light.

Chatham community marches for peace

Why Is The Mayor Of Chicago Destroying The Reputation Of His Own City School System?
Why Is The Press Letting Him?

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 1:31 pm and is filed under article, chicago, event, legislation & initiatives, organizaion, research, schools, teenagers, violence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.