Too often the news is grim from the streets of some South and West side neighborhoods: Shootings, chaos, fear. What typically gets less attention is the life-affirming pushback by residents and community groups who are sick of the violence and want to take back their streets.
Those opposing forces came together in horrific fashion last Friday in Englewood at the corner of 75th Street and Stewart Avenue, where members of a group called Mothers Against Senseless Killings hold daily summer vigils. That night, just before 10 p.m., two mothers who were familiar faces at the intersection were standing at the corner. A blue SUV appeared. Someone began firing, hitting the two women. Chantell Grant and Andrea Stoudemire — who each had four children — died of their wounds at University of Chicago Medical Center.
There isn’t an easy solution to the gun violence that plagues Chicago. Much of the shooting is connected to gangs and drugs — two intractable afflictions. Police and the court system are responsible for public safety, but residents have a key role to play as anti-violence activists. If the communities themselves were to give up, things could become so much worse. But if, in the wake of the mothers’ killings, residents were to energize, to recommit to fighting back? Neighborhoods that sometimes appear bleak would send a defiant message of hope.
Of the activist groups that rally against gun violence in Chicago — and there are many — one that we know of is called #1STV, as in “Stop the Violence.” We’ve watched on a summer evening as members of #1STV and other groups, residents, and a few Chicago police officers on the beat gathered in South Austin at the intersection of Madison Street and Central Avenue to take back their neighborhood from despair. The organizers blasted tunes, grilled hot dogs and implored anyone within the sound of their megaphone to “Honk your horns! Show some love. Put the guns down.”
What’s the point? Why take the risk? “We go out there to spread peace and love and try to calm things down,” George Bady Jr., founder of #1STV, told us Wednesday. There’s an inspirational purpose but a practical side also to a street corner vigil that Bady called a “community center without walls.” An anti-violence rally becomes a temporary safe place — or should be. Kids who are hungry can get a hot dog. Kids who want a summer job can ask for advice. And maybe the kid involved in gang life who wants to get out can seek help.
Another outcome of these vigils: the rapport with police that can develop. From the perspective of the Chicago Police Department, establishing trust with residents is a crucial component of crime-fighting. If you see something, say something gets activated. That happens to not be Bady’s perspective: “I don’t work for the police, I work for the community,” he said.
It’s a nuanced situation. Bady said the point of welcoming the police at an anti-violence rally is to help officers understand the neighborhoods they are assigned to serve and protect. Police who know residents are less likely to criticize and accuse. They are more likely to offer a helping hand, and to be viewed positively as peace officers. “The community becomes much safer when (residents) see the police officers engaging in the community,” Bady explained.
Last Friday, members of Mothers Against Senseless Killings lost a battle when Grant and Stoudemire were killed. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said there is no reason to believe the women were targeted. One of the women was shot from half a block away. Johnson and Mayor Lori Lightfoot hope city residents won’t despair, won’t give up. “We can’t let individuals that don’t have the morals we have hold us hostage,” Johnson said.
There’s too much at stake for that. Too much to do to combat the senselessness. The more that Chicagoans from every neighborhood can do to support anti-violence efforts, the better.
“What kind of an impact would it be if we all came together?” Bady wondered.
He told us his group planned to be out on the corner of Madison and Central on Wednesday evening.
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