“Sur de Chicago: People, politics and pain”
I ran into my old neighbor’s son the other day in Brighton Park. Markitos. Good kid. Bad situation. Mom’s passed away. Pops always works. Someone had to raise him. I hadn’t seen him in a few years. A few years is a long time here. Old Derrick Rose Jersey over his frail frame. Thin arms…barely big enough for that pitch fork tattoo on his right bicep. He noticed I saw the ink. I just smile. Smiles back. Gives me a pound. I remember how much he was into pre Columbian history when I was studying that at UIC. We had many discussions back then. I told him to stop by my spot in Little Village and I’ll give him some books.
Gives me that look.
“You know I can’t go to that hood bro. Me truenan.”
He was right. I understand.
I just got back from touring in Colombia. 6 shows, 6 cities in two weeks. A month before that I toured in Mexico. 9 cities in total repping these very hoods that these kids can’t fathom leaving. And I can’t fathom not being able to go anywhere I please.
But I understand.
You see, you can live next door to someone and live in different worlds.
I saw Markitos for ten minutes. A sentence. A paragraph of his life. Maybe this whole chapter will be similar. But it’s not the end of his story. He’s still writing.
Second chances. I believe in redemption. I root for the underdog.
I had a business meeting with a childhood friend from Back of the Yards the next day. Grown men, suit and tie action. Good steak. Better drinks. His watch was more expensive than my suit. Smh. Told him don’t have time to get humbled like that. He laughed. Out of habit, I referred to him by his old street gang name. He laughed harder.
“Who would have thought” he said.
Redemption. Second chances.
Soy del Sur de Chicago. I’ve said that in so many songs, shows, interviews…
I know we have problems. We have a gang culture that is embedded deep. You know how there’s cop families? Military families? Well, we have gang families. I hate you, your cousins and your daddy…cause my cousins and my daddy hated yours. And if you’re my neighbor…you’re guilty by association. Set up to fail. By us, the system….and maybe even by destiny. I know we have problems. Schools without many resources. Limited community programs. The lack of trust between the people and the police…and vice versa.
And an Alderman who doesn’t represent or stand up for his people.
Recently there was a shooting where someone died. A few hours later, friends were building a makeshift shrine to remember the dead. While setting up the religious candles and flowers, a car drove by shooting, striking eight…killing two.
Alderman Lopez sprinted to the first camera he saw and proclaimed, “no innocent lives were lost”
Such leadership. Such disconnect.
I hate the gang violence too. I hate the stray bullets. I hate that my mom still worries when I’m out. I hate seeing the Monday morning toll on shootings and killings. Of course. And anyone involved in these activities should be charged and prosecuted.
But nobody deserves to die…just for being there outside. No matter what they represent.
Are any of us “innocent”? I have a checkered past too. My friend in Back of the Yards does too. Does lil Markitos not deserve a shot to redeem himself?
Second chances.
Malcolm X used to be a street hustler by the name of Detroit Red. Quincy Jones was a broke street musician. Mark Wahlberg was coked out, in and out of Juvenile detention.
Alderman Lopez, do the people in the neighborhood you represent not deserve a shot at redemption? Much like yourself. You received a second chance after your DUI. You may not be so innocent either right?
You can live next door to someone and live in different worlds.
Be involved in your community…more than just when the cameras arrive. Work with the community leaders who have been doing the groundwork for years before you arrived. Not argue and try to take the credit. Fund programs that work with the youth. Activities. Community centers. Begin the ground work to start a bridge between the police and the neighborhood. An understanding. This wasn't built in a day. Many years of disconnect between police and the hood...cointel pro, black panthers, brown berets...let me stop. But something has to change.
Because….this…obviously isn’t working.
Speed bumps have not slowed down the shootings. More cops on every corner have not stopped the shootings.
No se tapa el sol con un dedo.
I drove by your ward yesterday. Main Streets. Side streets. Saw new businesses flourishing. Saw kids playing with those spinning fidgets. The fruit lady had a line of people. Some kids who look like Markitos walking…looking around just in case. I counted 7 makeshift shrines from Ashland to Kedzie. A cop followed me for three blocks. I have everything legit, but I was still nervous. Force of habit. He made a left. I went straight.
Alot of us have gone straight. I hope you do too. I’m trying to root for you…because your actions directly affect my people too.
Second chances right?
Peace, An Urban Terrorist