Speaking Rhetoric
Disappointment cannot describe the feeling I had watching the CBS 2 Chicago/WBBM radio town hall on violence in Chicago. It has been literally a minute since it went off the air, but I couldn’t wait until the next day to write about this. Here you had two of the largest media outlets in Chicago giving light on a hotly debated subject, and they drop the ball. How did they drop ball you ask? With panelists and speakers ranging from Jesse Jackson, school board president Rufus Williams, Congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Danny Davis, police superintendent Jody Weis, Rev. Michael Pfleger and parents of murdered CPS students, what or who possibly could have been left out?
The youth
The youth
The youth
Two hours of rhetoric, grandstanding, insight, and ideas about what is wrong with young people today, how can they be saved, why are so many at risk, but not one youth is given the chance to speak on their own behalf. The irony of this is that right outside Kennedy King College, where the town hall took place, you will find young people between 55th and 79th & Halsted breaking curfew, hanging out on the streets. For every youth out there who are gang banging, dropping out of school, or dying, there are many more trying to do something with their lives and able to offer as much — sometimes more– insight than the leaders who continue to speak on our behalf. Each time the camera cut into the audience, I scanned it to find at least one young face but could see a person who looked like they were under 25.
Despite popular belief, young people have to something to say. They always have. We just don’t listen. We put up the wall at the first difficulty and conclude that they’re “different” or “not how they used to be back in my day.” But as a recently vilified pastor once said, “different does not mean detrimental.”
Besides ignoring the young people, regular community residents were left out of this talk. I’m talking about the residents who aren’t part of an organization. If we’re going to open up this debate, we need to knock down the doors and let everybody in. Forget about the cameras. Forget about the lights. Forget about the ad sponsors. And, hopefully, Mayor Daley can take part too.
In fact, here is my idea for a town hall: Mayor Daley and these same leaders go on a citywide tour of community centers, high school gyms and auditoriums , churches, etc. — maybe even Soldier Field if the demand is there– and open the doors to everybody in the communities. When I say everybody, I mean everybody. Community groups, youth, parents, gang bangers, addicts, the homeless, the tired, the rich, the poor and the huddled masses. Open the gates and just have at it for as long as everyone is willing. Find out why these kids are dropping out? Why are the gang bangers joining gangs? Why are addicts doing drugs? Why have some people stopped caring? We don’t have to worry about commercial breaks or interrupting CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds.
If there was one person at the town hall who brought this point home, it was teacher and lecturer Dr. Adolph Brown, III. Brown walked around the room until the very end disguised as the stereotypical young male many are used to envisioning: doo-rag and baggy clothes. Brown encountered only stern looks and silence from most of those in attendance, not an ounce of outreach or gratefulness for this disguised young person making the effort to attend this forum. As Brown revealed his suit and true identity under the baggy clothes, the audience was left silent and befuddled from their hypocrisy. After two hours of talk, Brown challenged them to action.
Will they answer his call? We’ll see at the next town hall.
