#interrupt violence

[kartemquin]

We're got this really intractable problem- seemingly intractable problem- of violence, and you spend time with Cobe, Eddie, and Ameena, and there's this sense of promise, this sense of light, this sense of hope. And, for me, that's the import of this story– is the sense that there's a way out.

Alex Kotlowitz, on The Interrupters

Congratulations to Alex, Steve and the rest of the team behind The Interrupters on receiving a duPont award, one of the highest honors in broadcast journalism. Watch Steve and Alex discuss their motivations and the challenges they faced in creating a film that addresses urban violence in this new video for the awards. 

[kartemquin]

Teens in the Columbia Links journalism and news literacy program housed at Columbia College Chicago will present their findings on violence as a public health problem and how communities such as Chatham, Roseland and Beverly prevent violence at a Town Hall Meeting,“Don’t Shoot, I MUST Grow Up,”on November 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Music Center Concert Hall, 1014 S. Michigan Ave. The town hall meeting will be moderated byWBEZ South Side Bureau reporter Natalie Moore.

Links’ investigative team (I-Team) of five Chicago high school students has been researching and analyzing the strategies that some communities have been using to successfully fight back against violence. A panel of adults involved in violence prevention work also will speak about their efforts at the Town Hall meeting. Audience members will be able to ask questions of students and adults.

Interrupt Violence

[kartemquin]

Low-income, inner-city youth, like the 300,000 living in Los Angeles' gang "hot zones," are at the greatest risk. According to research, 90 percent of these children and teens have been victims or witnesses of felony-level violence. Their scars run deep. A fifth of youth living in these areas suffer from clinical depression and one third have PTSD. In addition, chronic stress from growing up in a violent neighborhood, home or both produces elevated levels of certain chemicals and hormones that are believed to impair brain development in children. Specifically, the areas of the brain impacted are those responsible for learning, memory, concentration and regulating emotions and actions.

Violent Events Have Long-Term Effects on Children

FILMS: Prisoner of Her Past, The Interrupters 

[kartemquin]

Gang labeling in dispute when analyzing Chicago violence

The city of Chicago is making a concerted effort to fight gang activity and one important part is to track it. That involves pegging some crimes as “gang related,” a label that the police department applies to most murders in the city.  Some residents inside Chicago neighborhoods, and even some crime experts, say police are too loose with the term. They worry police can’t fight crime well until they understand why it happens.Malcolm Rashad met his best friend Cornelius Jordan on the block they grew up on in West Englewood. They rode their bikes together as little boys and ran races up and down Wood Street. Last year someone gunned down 26-year-old Jordan on the very same block. Rashad says his friend got caught in crossfire meant for someone else. The grief cut deeper when friends and family heard the supposed circumstances of Jordan’s death. The Chicago Tribune reported: “Police suspect that the shooting was gang-related, but didn't elaborate.” RASHAD: When he died and I heard them say it was gang related, I said he wasn’t even affiliated with any gang. He was a family man. He always kept his kids around and he was just a happy person. He always worked hard. Rashad says the burden of living in high-crime Englewood allows terms like gang related to inhabit the streets. It’s easy to categorize and it’s a shortcut to finding out what the real problems are.

READ MORE

FILM: The Interrupters 

[kartemquin]

Happy 40th Birthday to The Interrupters' Cobe Williams

If you've not seen the film yet, then what better way to celebrate 40 years of Cobe Williams and his incredible work in Chicago and beyond! Watch it FREE on Frontline. If you have- clever you!  Pass it on to a friend! 

[kartemquin]

"If you're going to judge me by that record, judge me by the one I'm creating now. See 'cause the one I'm creating now is more powerful than the one I had in the past" 

-Charles, Outreach Coordinator for West Side Health Authority, Author, Radio Host

People with felony records are 67 % less likely to return to prison if they can gain 30 days of employment.

Eddie Bocanegra of The Interrupters  is working with the Community Renewal Society on FORCE–a project that aims to overcome employment discrimination against people with felony records.

Anyone who's seen The Interrupters and witnessed the remarkable work of Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra must know that people who've committed crimes in the past can go on to be incredible assets to their communities. All FORCE asks is that people who've served their time be given the opportunity to take command over the next chapter of their lives. 

Share the video and help spread the word! 

(video by former Kartemquin intern John Fecile) 

[kartemquin]

[kartemquin]

There is no way Chicago is going to significantly reduce the violence without investing resources in the communities where the violence is occurring. Every time an ex-felon walks out of prison and returns to the neighborhood without even a job prospect, that person is ripe for trouble. And how long will a young person who is struggling with basic reading, writing and math skills be content to sit in the back of the classroom pretending to learn. It won’t be long before that kid finds himself carrying a gun like a bookbag.

Mary Mitchell in today's Sun Times 

Interrupt Violence