08/12/2024
Happy Monday….Let me share some real history with my Conscious Mindz Family that the story tellers don't tell or don't know: This photo captures the spirit of Englewood in the early '90s—a time when unity, structure, and discipline reigned supreme. We birthed 21st Century V.O.T.E. (The first headquarters right off 63rd Aberdeen), UNITED IN PEACE, 1993 Urban Peace Summits (National Gang Truce from Chicago to California)See Chicago Tribune October 1and 26, 1993 (some of our major supporters Prince Asiel Ben Israel, then NAACP executive director Benjamin Chavis, Dr. Nehemiah Russell 21st Century Educator and Human Rights Activist then Principal at Englewood High School, Jim Brown(James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American footballfullback, civil rights activist, and actor)) and the Gang Deactivation Programs activated at then Englewood High School and Harper High School, and also we had made it mandatory for every youngster going to Elementary school to go on a daily basis (we use come through every day and chase their a**es down and take them to school lol).
Our efforts fueled major concerts at the Chicago Amphitheater under SAVE THE CHILDREN PROMOTION, we launched the I.R.O.C. Program for legal aid to Illinois prisoners, With strong support from black local officials we controlled and commanded the black vote across the city, marching 15,000 strong from 35th to City Hall.
In this moment, the youth of Englewood were organized, unified and disciplined, we were politically charged 1995, organizing the late Hal Baskin's alderman campaign in the South Side's 16th Ward and standing with Roland Burris in his mayoral run.
We laid the groundwork for today's violence prevention programs, offering the blueprint for the city's intervention strategies. We were the trailblazers, shaping the future with our experience and leadership. We were the pioneers of today's violence prevention programs, laying the groundwork long before initiatives like CEASEFIRE and the other programs throughout the city, today.
Our efforts provided the blueprint for the city's Violence Prevention/Intervention strategies. What others are doing now, I mastered back then. My experience and history in organizational leadership helped set the stage for future generations.
