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Violence Wanes in Chicago, but Fear Looms Over Mayor’s Race

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In this Oct. 15, 2013 file photo, Cleopatra Pendleton, the mother of slain teen Hayida Pendelton, speaks at a news conference about gun violence in Chicago. Looking on from left are Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. Fifteen-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed Jan. 29, 2013 in a park during a gang dispute she had nothing to do with. Mayor Emanuel has spent nearly $200 million over the last two years to flood the city's streets with police working overtime to help quell the violence. Since then, overall violence has declined, but the number of slayings in some minority neighborhoods actually jumped. Emanuel is facing opponent Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia in a April 7, 2015 runoff election. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

In this Oct. 15, 2013 file photo, Cleopatra Pendleton, the mother of slain teen Hayida Pendelton, speaks at a news conference about gun violence in Chicago. Looking on from left are Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Fifteen-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed Jan. 29, 2013 in a park during a gang dispute she had nothing to do with. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

DON BABWIN, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A few years ago, violence on Chicago streets thrust a recently elected mayor into the national spotlight as shootouts in some of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods fueled nearly constant bloodshed.

Rahm Emanuel spent nearly $200 million over two years to flood those streets with police working overtime. His police department also collected a trove of information about individual gang members and set up meetings between gang members and the parents of homicide victims to illustrate the high human cost of gunfire.

Since then, the city’s overall violence has declined, but the number of slayings in some minority neighborhoods actually jumped. And while police boast of historic drops in the homicide rate, many frustrated families in those areas say their communities have seen little to no improvement or have actually deteriorated.

“It’s worse,” said Anthony Jackson, a 62-year-old retired maintenance man as he made his way to his home in the heart of a neighborhood that last year saw a dramatic spike in homicides — to about half the number of the entire city of Washington, D.C. “We’re just out here on our own.”

The stubborn violence contributes to the mayor’s overall challenge in his bid for a second term and puts him in the somewhat awkward position of simultaneously touting his success against crime while acknowledging that much more needs to be done.

“The truth is that as much progress as we’ve made over the past four years, we simply have to do better,” Emanuel said in a speech.

The total number of homicides in Chicago fell from more than 500 in 2012 to just over 400 last year, the lowest level in a half-century. But the number of shootings climbed 12 percent, from 1,866 to 2,084, during the same period.

The discontent goes beyond the bullets. Despite Emanuel’s success in attracting companies to the thriving Loop district, the only businesses that seem to survive in many minority neighborhoods are dusty markets, fast-food restaurants and dollar stores.

The result was that Emanuel did not receive enough votes last month to avoid an April runoff with Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Much of the support the mayor had from black voters four years ago vanished in the primary. Though Emanuel was the clear winner in every majority-black ward, he received fewer than half the votes in them. Four years ago, he received more than half the votes in every single one.

A Chicago Tribune poll published Tuesday shows that Emanuel has opened a 28 percentage point lead over Garcia — largely by making gains among white voters. There was little change among black voters for Emanuel or Garcia and, while Garcia has the support of 52 percent of Hispanic voters, Emanuel has 36 percent. The poll has an error margin of 3.7 percentage points.

Jackson said he voted for Emanuel in 2011, but he doesn’t know who he will support in the April 7 election.

In the Harrison police district, where Jackson lives, the number of homicides climbed from 35 in 2013 to 51 last year, and the number of shootings climbed at more than double the citywide rate. Police have not offered a definitive reason other than to point to what Superintendent Garry McCarthy calls “severe gang conflicts.”

And Emanuel’s decision to close dozens of schools added more boarded-up buildings to streets already littered with them, with residents complaining that the schools became larger versions of the abandoned houses that are magnets for gangs and drug dealers.

“What people see is these parts of the city have been abandoned, and the investment has gone elsewhere,” said Marshall Hatch, a prominent minister on the city’s West Side, standing near the shuttered Goldblatt Elementary School.

Statistically, there is plenty of evidence that the city’s crime-fighting strategies are paying off. Since 2012, reports of every major crime have dropped, some significantly.

The 504 homicides that caught the attention of the nation in 2012 have fallen to a level not seen since the mid-1960s. It’s the same story with robbery, aggravated battery, burglary and motor-vehicle theft. There were fewer reports — sometimes hundreds fewer — of those crimes than two years ago, including in Jackson’s community and other largely black neighborhoods.

For example, in the Grand Crossing district on the South Side, 2014 ended with 18 homicides — less than half the 42 recorded in 2012.

Still, even in that area and in other nearby communities, Emanuel did not receive nearly the percentage of votes that he did in 2011.

In his campaign, the mayor has addressed the fears stirred up by the death of an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a bullet that pierced a wall while she made s’mores during a sleepover. And he acknowledged the slaying of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student killed shortly after returning from President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

“Too many families still have their kids off the porch when it gets dark. Too many families … do not let their kids go outside because they’re scared,” the mayor told the audience after an introduction by Hadiya’s mother, who praised Emanuel as someone who feels the pain of those who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

Garcia has pledged to hire 1,000 police officers. Without the added police presence, he said, the city “will never be able to end the heartbreaking violence that has taken the lives of so many of our children.”

Emanuel also finds himself courting black votes in the wake of a study by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which found that the police department’s “stop and frisk” practice disproportionately targeted blacks.

Hatch said he fully expects Garcia to cite the report as another example of Emanuel’s failure to help the black community.

“Everybody holds the mayor accountable because, like we say in the black church, he’s got all the power in his hands,” he said.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

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Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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Black Feminist Movement Mobilizes in Response to National Threats

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States. The event, led by the organization Black Feminist Future, is headlined by activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis. Paris Hatcher, executive director of Black Feminist Future, joined Black Press USA’s Let It Be Known to outline the mission and urgency behind the gathering, titled “Get Free.” “This is not just a conference to dress up and have a good time,” Hatcher said. “We’re building power to address the conditions that are putting our lives at risk—whether that’s policing, reproductive injustice, or economic inequality.” Hatcher pointed to issues such as rising evictions among Black families, the rollback of bodily autonomy laws, and the high cost of living as key drivers of the event’s agenda. “Our communities are facing premature death,” she said.

Workshops and plenaries will focus on direct action, policy advocacy, and practical organizing skills. Attendees will participate in training sessions that include how to resist evictions, organize around immigration enforcement, and disrupt systemic policies contributing to poverty and incarceration. “This is about fighting back,” Hatcher said. “We’re not conceding anything.” Hatcher addressed the persistent misconceptions about Black feminism, including the idea that it is a movement against men or families. “Black feminism is not a rejection of men,” she said. “It’s a rejection of patriarchy. Black men must be part of this struggle because patriarchy harms them too.” She also responded to claims that organizing around Black women’s issues weakens broader coalitions. “We don’t live single-issue lives,” Hatcher said. “Our blueprint is one that lifts all Black people.”

The conference will not be streamed virtually, but recaps and updates will be posted daily on Black Feminist Future’s YouTube channel and Instagram account. The event includes performances by Tank and the Bangas and honors longtime activists including Billy Avery, Erica Huggins, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. When asked how Black feminism helps families, Hatcher said the real threat to family stability is systemic oppression. “If we want to talk about strong Black families, we have to talk about mass incarceration, the income gap, and the systems that tear our families apart,” Hatcher said. “Black feminism gives us the tools to build and sustain healthy families—not just survive but thrive.”

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