"Black men deserve to grow old"

 I wanted to share this meme recently and ask how many of you are contributing to this for the men in your lives. Whether we're talking significant others, fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, nephews, uncles, brothers, cousins, or even friends.

This meme emerged in the outrage over the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, TENN. Well I overstated that, he was badly beaten by police officers and no one is characterizing this as a case of excessive force. The officers involved have been fired and charged with second degree murder. Sadly three days after being stopped & brutally beaten by Memphis Police in January Mr. Nichols died.

Nichols from some of what I read had crohn's disease and wasn't in robust health. He was over six feet tall but has been described as underweight compared to some of the officers involved with this incident. He leaves behind a son, who is now without a father. He was known as a free spirit who was into landscapes, paid no attention to stereotypes as a Black male, and he liked to skateboard. This is the kind of man you want to see grow old. It was sad to see him beaten and pepper sprayed by these officers call out for his mother.

To further interpret this meme, I had focused on say if the women who shared this meme have Black boyfriends or husbands. How would they contribute to the Black man in their lives to growing old? Is this something they believe beyond the current public outrages?

I suppose these meme, has a much deeper meaning to me. This shouldn't come out for the latest major story, especially when it comes to a case of police brutality. This should be an everyday thing.

Yes, Black men deserve to grow old. They deserve to be happy, treated with respect, and be surrounded by people who love them. That's my answer.

Retracing the murder of Emmett Till

 

[VIDEO] If I ever do my Civil Rights tour and go to the sites very important in the Civil Rights era is to go to Money, Mississippi. To visit that grocery store where 14-year-old Till allegedly made a move on the wife of the store owner. What I learned here in this video by Mobile Instinct is we'll never really know what happened here, we do know that Mrs. Bryant allegedly admitted decades later that the story that caused Till's murder was fabricated.

They go to a bridge where allegedly Till's body was dumped into the Tallahatchie River. And yet another site along the river where his body was most likely tossed into the river with a fan attached to his body. They went to the site of Till's torture and murder. They go to the courthouse where Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were tried and acquitted for murder.

Also another site is the church of Till's great-uncle where they intended to have the funeral and a nearby graveyard where Till would've been buried. Instead as history records Mamie Mobley wanted her son to be sent to Chicago for his funeral. And as disfigured as this boy was by the actions of Bryant and Milam she wanted to show the world what they did to her boy! 

Oh well the bridge isn't used much anymore. The church of Till's family is basically a shell with the earth reclaiming it - not too uncommon in the country unfortunately I know by experience. The store where allegedly Till whistled at Mrs. Bryant is basically a shell also. However, all seen in this video are important places of history.

Also noted for $3,000 back in 1955 Bryant and Milam who couldn't be tried again because of "double jeopardy" were all too willing to take the money to tell their story of their crime to Look magazine.

Bloody Chicago: Chicago's Graffiti Mayor Lori Lightfoot

[VIDEO] I'm starting to realize Lori Lightfoot elected Mayor of Chicago, Ill just last year really has a rough ride early in her first term. I recognized a tinge of thin skinned temperament from her in some respects as she referred to a police union official as a clown.

Vic Maggio of Maggio News has spent years in Chicago's neighborhoods tracking crime issues and he observes on the Eisenhower Expressway many instances of graffiti. In this time of civil unrest unfortunately graffiti is more prevalent. Some people don't see this as crime, but as expression. It was evidenced by a tweet I received a while back.

Graffiti is vandalism..... https://t.co/MEBuoZLWJ2

— The Sixth Ward (@TheSixthWard) August 2, 2020

I also want to note that there is an instance of graffiti on a highway sign over the Dan Ryan past 63rd southbound. This is not something I recall seeing before ever.

 I'm a long way from blaming Mayor Lightfoot for many of this issues, but she has a hell of a case to present for her re-election in 2023. Depending upon what happens by 2022, I wouldn't be too surprised if she decided she wasn't going to run again! 

Chicago looted by BLM

[VIDEO] So after Mayor Lightfoot crashes a gathering of people on a north side lakefront beach we get another mass incident of looting locally. The basis for this is said to be a shooting that took place in Englewood on Sunday afternoon. From there, an organized caravan of people go into downtown Chicago and start looting not only there but also the Magnificent Mile. We already experienced some major unrest and now we got more.

Instead of showing some footage from our local news outlets, perhaps we watch someone outside of Chicago analyze what happened overnight through Monday. Anthony Brian Logan is a conservative YouTuber that has taken aim at BLM recently.

I did some posting with regards to this latest development at The Sixth Ward.

Drama teacher charged with sexual assault of student

[VIDEO] I'm not going to say too much or editorial a lot about this. What's mentioned in the above report from CBS 2 states what I wanted to say he was a husband and father who is charged with sexually abusing one of his students. Now he has his mugshot in a TV report, online and perhaps even on a newspaper since I really first heard about this from the Sun-Times.

Regardless, another sexual abuse allegation out of a CPS school. CPS already has to face a number of issues and now they have to face sexual abuse allegations.

What are the feds looking for in #Ward34?

While this is old news from last week south side alderman Carrie Austin of Ward 34 has her ward offices raided by federal authorities on a search warrant. Reports seem to suggest that this might be related to the indictment of Ald. Ed Burke (Ward 11) or even a colleague wearing a wire for the feds former Ald. Danny Solis (Ward 25). Of course is it possible that the feds have been looking at Ald. Austin in the first place.

This is a topic of discussion on last weeks Chicago Tonight with Paris Shutz and Carol Marin

This is something that I did a post or two over at The Sixth Ward. However I wanted to add this from last week from Rich Millers CapFax

Could this be part of what the feds are looking at? https://t.co/EGJHZOb9eG

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 21, 2019

 

I also found this through CapFax's tweets. Another link as far as what the feds are looking for in Ward 34.

Family members. Her longtime chief of staff. Campaign contributions. Even food stamps.

The federal grand jury probe is looking for all sorts of stuff on Ald. Carrie Austin - and it's been going on since 2017.https://t.co/mVQDUhNZKg

— Dan Mihalopoulos (@dmihalopoulos) June 23, 2019

The No. 1 most violent Chicago neighborhood is Austin

[VIDEO] We've reached No. 1 which is the west side's Austin neighborhood or community area. As Vic Maggio writes in the description for this vid posted March 17, 2018:

The Austin Neighborhood has the largest land area and population out of all the other top ten neighborhoods.

Austin's far Northwestern edge is Galewood, it was once a large Italian neighborhood. North Austin and South Austin Is the largest neighborhood in Austin, North Austin is a smaller area. North Austin and South Austin are very violent areas these two areas account for 90% of all the shootings and crime in Austin.

The Island a square mile in the extreme southwest corner of Austin, which is isolated by the Eisenhower Expressway and Columbus Park.

The racial makeup of the community is 84% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 4% White, the population was at its height in the 1980s at around 140.000, by 2015 the population seen a dramatic decrease to 97.000. Due to poverty, crime and gang violence this neighborhood lost over 40.000 residents over the past 35-years.

This year in the Austin Neighborhood, 461 people have been shot and, 83, have been killed and 384 have been wounded. These stats rank Austin at number 1, on the 2017 list of the most Violent neighborhoods in Chicago

And here's a map of Austin

No. 2 Chicago most violent neighborhood - Garfield Park

[VIDEO] We're down to the top two most violent neighborhoods or community areas in Chicago using statistics from 2017. #2 is Garfield Park on the west side actually there is two Garfield Parks (East and West) just as there are really two Englewoods (Englewood and West Englewood).

Here's what Vic Maggio writes in his description to this vid posted March 3, 2018

Warning Graphic Content: The Garfield Park neighborhood is home to Garfield park, it is the oldest of the three West Side parks and has one of the most beautiful field houses and has the single largest conservatories in the United States.

Most of the old sandstone buildings scattered throughout the neighborhood have religious markers on them, these are a reminder of the original Jewish history of the area. Garfield Park was also home to the 4,000-seat Marbro Theater which was among the city’s largest.

This video also covers a little history on the Chicago Police Department and touches on the relationship between the residents and the department over the years.

This neighborhood is in a state of disrepair and has quite a few abandoned businesses spread out throughout the area, it looks as though this neighborhood has been ignored and basically forgotten. I have noticed many residents packing up with moving vans and fleeing this depressed crime ravaged neighborhood.

The population of east and west Garfield park was at its height in the 1960s with 100,000 residents, over a 50-year period these two neighborhoods lost nearly 60.000 residents.

This year in the Garfield Park neighborhood, 260, people have been shot and, 36, have been killed and 224, have been wounded. These stats rank Garfield Park at number 2 on the 2017 list of the most Violent neighborhoods in Chicago.

Here's a map of the Garfield Park area, however, I haven't really been able to find a precise Google map of West Garfield Park. As you see the East Garfield Park area is well defined. Though in Maggio's vid you will see a rough outline of West Garfield Park.

No. 3 Most violent neighborhood North Lawndale

[VIDEO] The third most violent of Chicago's 77 neighorhoods err community areas is North Lawndale on Chicago's west side. Here's what Maggio writes about North Lawndale in this video posted to YouTube on February 24, 2018.

The North Lawndale Neighborhood was one of the oldest Jewish communities in Chicago. the neighborhood was home to mega businesses like: International Harvester, Sears, Zenith, Sunbeam, Western Electric. The area was also home to Martin Luther King, Jrs., base for the northern civil rights movement.

  The neighborhood has fallen into hard economic times since its heyday of the 1950s. Gangs, guns and drugs have turned this community on its head and has become a very dangerous neighborhood to live in today. The area is full of leveled blocks where businesses and homes once stood, these blocks are reminders of a once economically prosperous neighborhood. Neighborhoods like North Lawndale are under siege and are presently in a struggle for the hearts and souls of the residents.

This is a very sad struggle to witness on a regular basis, it is truly damaging to the heart and soul. I still hold out hope for all of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods, but in the end, it is up to the residents to make final decision on the future direction of their neighborhood.

UPDATE: This year [2017?] in the North Lawndale neighborhood, 253, people have been shot and, 41, have been killed and 212, have been wounded. These stats rank North Lawndale at number 3 on the 2017 list of the most Violent neighborhoods in Chicago.

Here's a map of North Lawndale

No. 4 most violent Chicago neighborhood - Englewood

[VIDEO] Englewood is the no. 4 most violent of Chicago's neighborhoods. Just think of the hoopla over a Whole Foods Market store coming to the former commercial district of 63rd & Halsted. And then consider what's going on in the rest of the neighborhood outside of that intersection. It might be changing but there are still a lot of issues, and perhaps time will tell if that area will live down the reputation for crime and violence.

Here's what Victor Maggio writes about Englewood which was posted February 17, 2018

The Englewood neighborhood was home to one of the first documented serial killers in American history, H.H.Holmes, and was also home to the second largest shopping district in the city of Chicago, and also home to gang leader Larry Hoover, he is the notorious former leader of the Black Gangster Disciple Nation, a street gang with a long violent history that spread nationwide.

Englewood has been considered one of the top 5 most violent and dangerous neighborhood for almost a decade and has often achieved the number 1 spot many times. The good news is there has been a decrease in the number of shootings this year, the bad news is many of the gang members have fled from this neighborhood to surrounding communities.

The Englewood Neighborhood is ranked number 4 on the list of top ten most violent neighborhoods in Chicago. this year 250 people have been shoot, 49 people have been killed, and 201 have been wounded.

For over a decade I spent many weekends with friends, playing cards and partying in this neighborhood. There are a lot of good people trapped by the never-ending cycle of violence. It is truly a shame how much the area has deteriorated. I believe this neighborhood has been basically forgotten by the powers that be.

Here's a map of Englewood

No. 5 most violent Chicago neighborhood Humboldt Park

[VIDEO] Humboldt Park according to Maggio News posted to YouTube on February 9, 2018. Description

The Humboldt park neighborhood has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the Chicago area. Humboldt is home to the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, the Urban Theater Company and one of the most Beautiful parks in the city.

Humboldt has an old connection to the FLAN (Armed Forces of National Liberation) terrorist organization. There is a deep divide amongst the residents over support for the FLAN.

The park is the life blood of this neighborhood. Humboldt Park was once the nation’s greatest public park, the park has tennis courts, an inland beach, baseball fields and bike paths. Humboldt is ranked number 5, on the list of Chicago’s top ten most violent neighborhoods and is one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city.

The riots of the 60s and 70s damaged this neighborhood and forever changed the economic future of Humboldt Park.

Like the other top ten hoods drugs, gangs and lack of opportunity continue to plague the area.

Here's a map of Humboldt Park

No. 6 Chicago most violent neighborhood - Auburn Gresham

[VIDEO] Chicago Auburn Gresham is the next subject of Vic Maggio's series on violent Chicago neighborhoods. It's one you can visit one you get off the expressway just off of 79th Street for example. Maggio writes to this video which was posted on February 2, 2018:

The Auburn Gresham Neighborhood is home to the Thurgood Marshall Branch of the Chicago public library, St. Sabina Church, headed by Rev. Michael Pfleger, and St. Leo campus for veterans, which includes the Catholic Charities' St. Leo's residence-based outpatient clinic.

The Neighborhood has seen many tough times and a lot of violence and has seen a substantial drop in population over the past couple of decades. This is directly due to crime. This neighborhoods gang problem really took off because of the piss poor economy created in the late 70s forcing many young black men to the streets to make a living. This period in time seen the rise of the mega gangs.

I have met a lot of good people in this neighborhood and hope this hood is not on the list next year.

Maggio News

Here's a map of the Auburn Gresham community

 I wanted to share this post over at The Sixth Ward from 2016 with regards to John Ruberry who did an urban exploration of Auburn Gresham. His family once resided in the area and he makes sure to note some of the many abandoned homes there. He even notes the value of controversial Catholic priest Father Michael Pfleger within the community.

Travel Advisory: High Risk Funeral Procession #Ward09

You might have seen this from Concerned Citizen's of Chatham and I see that Ald. Anthony Beale posted this as well (at least until it was deleted).

Let me state the route of this procession

Therefore neighborhood advocates involved with peacekeeping activities are calling for all area residents, businesses and faith based organizations to be aware and cautious when using, or crossing, Cottage Grove Ave between 115th street & 67th (Marquette road) between the hours of 1pm until 3pm 2 hours), where a procession leaving the "House of Hope" will travel to Oakwoods cemetery.

From what I'm seeing as far as comments this might involve the funeral of Lawrence "Big Law" Loggins who was murdered earlier this month. Police fear retaliation in his murder.

No. 7 most violent Chicago neighborhood - South Shore

[VIDEO] This video was published to YouTube via Bloody Chicago on January 26, 2018. As in the earlier videos a basic history of the community is shared in the description.

The South shore neighborhood has some of the most beautiful shore line in the city, and is home to South Shore Cultural Center, Rainbow Beach, Terror Town, and the historic district, the Jackson Park Highlands.

The neighborhood has seen a massive increase in crime since 2000, because of placement of residents from Chicago’s most violent public housing projects and because of this South shore is now the subsidized housing capitol of Chicago.

South Shore is a good example of how political leaders attempted to rectify one mistake with another.

 I hold out hope for South Shore, but unfortunately, I think the damage has already been done.

Maggio News

Here's a map of the South Shore community

In 2017 South Shore was deemed the eviction capitol of Chicago.

No 8 most violent neighborhood Roseland

[VIDEO] This video I actually shared here last year and will repost that video on this occasion just to share with you the 8th most violent neighborhood according to Vic Maggio and stats he got for HeyJackass.com. Here's the description posted to the video shared on YouTube Janunary 20, 2018:

The Roseland neighborhood is home to the Lowden Projects, the wild 100s.

The Roseland neighborhood by far has one of the best outward physical appearances then most of the other top ten neighborhoods.

Roseland has a decent economic base, good homes and schools, this goes against all the usual arguments of why violence is happening in this neighborhood.

Updated: This year in the Roseland neighborhood, 130 people have been shot and, 36 have been killed and 94 have been wounded. These stats rank Roseland at number 8 on the 2017 list of the most Violent neighborhoods in Chicago. This video was made 5 weeks before the year ended. I meet a lot of good people in this neighborhood and am hoping Roseland does not make the list next year.

And here's a map for your reference of the Roseland community area

Roseland

 In the above video you will see shots of the Lowden Homes on 95th and the surrounding community as well as some shots of the homes of West Chesterfield. Of course that in addition to the great history of Roseland that had been a prosperous community through most of the past century. However, as we've seen of many neighborhoods in the first three videos things just change. It could be the economy or white flight bottom line is that fortunes change...

No. 9 most violent Chicago neighborhood Greater Grand Crossing

[VIDEO] This video about Greater Grand Crossing on the south side is no. 9 most violent neighborhood. This is what Maggio writes about this video (duration 15 minutes) which was posted to YouTube on January 13, 2018:

The Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood is home to white city park, the parkway gardens projects, and has the most violent block, O Block.

One positive thing this neighborhood has going for it, is New Beginnings Church and Pastor Corey Brooks and his youth organization Project Hood. What this area really needs is JOBS.

Out of all the top ten neighborhoods Grand Crossing and South Shore are the two I spent the least amount of time in because they are so far east.

Updated: This year in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, 131 people have been shot and, 22 have been killed and 109 have been wounded. These stats rank Grand Crossing at number 9 on the 2017 list of the most Violent neighborhoods in Chicago.

This video was made 6 weeks before the year ended. This video contains a mass shooting in the neighboring community of Chatham where 2 brothers were killed, and 5 others were wounded on Christmas day 2016.

For your convenience this is a map of the Greater Grand Crossing community area.

This video experienced some resistance when it was shared on Nextdoor last year. Most people there objected to Maggio's video because many have looked at his political leanings and some people considered him an outsider. I will also warn you that as he discusses the history of this area he will note a racist amusement park known as "White City" where Blacks were banned from patronizing however there were attractions that utilized Black workers. I don't know if this triggered anyone, but at least you'll know about it if you haven't watched the video yet.

Woman shot dead in Roseland alley ‘was loved by so many’ #Ward09

Sun-Times: 

About 2:35 a.m., officers responding to a call of shots fired found Ambriana Collins suffering from several gunshot wounds to her chest in an alley in the 10700 block of South Eberhart on the Far South Side, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Investigators were told a white truck was seen speeding from the scene of the shooting, police said.

Collins was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:51 a.m., authorities said. She lived in the neighboring West Pullman neighborhood.

Collins left behind a 4-year-old son named Angelo, according to her relative Shiela House, who said the boy’s father died from cancer last October.

“Everybody’s just so lost about it,” House said.

Another relative, Devin Williams, said Angelo might be staying with his grandmother for now.

House said Collins was a hardworking mother, noting that she was employed at both a Popeyes restaurant and a McDonald’s location at 103rd Street and Kedzie Avenue.

“We’re just so stunned,” House said. “Everybody called her Ambrii. She was loved by so many.”

An update to the incident reported by ABC 7 Chicago last Friday. Would like to share this video of the scene from the Sun-Times. You would find it in the article. [VIDEO]

ABC Chicago: Woman found shot to death in Pullman

The rest of the story

Woman found shot to death in Pullman: https://t.co/7eYZIFWGcU pic.twitter.com/Ea2e0uftvk

— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) January 25, 2019

Police responded to a report of shots fired at about 2:35 a.m. in the 10700-block of South Eberhart Avenue. Police discovered a woman with several gunshots in her chest in an alley.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released her identity.

Police said a truck, possibly white, was observed fleeing the scene. No one is in custody and Area South detectives are conducting a homicide investigation.

The 10th most violent neighborhood: Back of the Yards...

[VIDEO] This is the start of Maggio's top 10 most violent Chicago neighborhoods series. This entry uploaded to YouTube on January 6, 2018 is of the Back of the Yards neighborhood with a duration of just over 8 minutes. The description he posted:

The Back of the yards neighborhood will never be known as New City, to me, or the residents of this community, this neighborhood is the least violent of the top ten.

Back of the Yards is a diverse community where the gangs are at each other’s throats, this problem has a racial component to it, that nobody dares to mention.

The violence raging in this community is total and the weaponry being used to kill and maim people is shocking. Weapons like AR-15s and AK-47s are regularly used in gang shootings in and the communities that surround the back of the yards neighborhood.

The stats show of the 33 rifle related shootings, 46 people were shot and 13 were killed in these attacks. The battles raging in this neighborhood have a vendetta based history that goes back decades.

There are a lot of good people that live in this neighborhood that are trapped by the violence, it must also be realized these gangs could not survive for decades without some sort of support from within the community.

I was born and raised in the neighboring community of Bridgeport, I worked and partied in this neighborhood for decades. It is a shame to see the senseless violence raging without no end in sight in this neighborhood.

And for your frame of reference, a map of the New City community area of which Back of the Yards is considered a part of.

Via Chicago CityScape

 I wish I could've had a map that showed the bordering streets. From the Encyclopedia of Chicago with regards to Back of the Yards:

Located in the community area of New City, the neighborhood extends from 39th to 55th Streets between Halsted and the railroad tracks along Leavitt Street, just south and west of the former Union Stock Yard and adjacent packing plants, a giant sprawl that was until the 1950s the largest livestock yards and meatpacking center in the country.

14-year-old boy shot in Fernwood

Saw this on my Facebook feed this morning video of the scene where teenaged boy was shot after being dropped off by his "Uber"

The boy was dropped off by the ride-share vehicle in the first block of West 105th Street at about 2:28 a.m., police said. He was approached by two male suspects who spoke with the boy before police said they opened fire.

The boy was grazed in the head and ran inside a home and is hospitalized at Comer Children's Hospital. Police said he is in fair condition. The ride-share driver was not injured.

The suspects fled the scene, police said. No one is in custody and Area South detectives are investigating.

And as always be careful out there!