Sports Can Help

We all know that if kids had something to do besides running wild in the streets they would have more opportunities at becoming successful in life. As I have said before I grew up in Galewood one of the western most neighborhoods in Cook County. Having friends from all over the city I was privileged enough to be able to get a taste of life from all different kinds of perspectives and cultures.

People I knew in the Austin neighborhood were a part of a summer basketball tournament in the gym at the LeClaire Courts. We were in the tournament for two years straight and we managed to reach the championship one year but lost only by a few points.

I can remember the entire neighborhood showing up for most of the games and the gym was filled with kids, adults, teenagers, and older folks. That gym brought the entire community together even if it was for just a few games. No one seemed to be outside during the games because they were all inside watching us play one of their teams or two of their teams playing each other.

We were a team from the west side of Chicago and they were teams from the south side in and around the LeClaire Courts housing development. We were outsiders but we were always treated with respect during and after games. If we had been a horrible team and not good like we were, things might have gone a little differently.

Being the only white kid for miles didn’t get to me in games cause I had already learned to overcome that trivial aspect of life many years before, so it was always fun to go and play at LeClaire Courts. It kept me out of trouble but I wasn’t the one in real danger because I lived in a decent neighborhood with a mother and father that gave me all the opportunities in life I could ask for.

On the other hand the kids that lived in and around LeClaire Courts are the one who benefitted the most. Thanks to the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Park District this tournament was possible. We need programs and summer tournaments like this all across the city because Chicago’s youth deserve the opportunity to grow up and make a positive impact on their family’s lives and the world as a whole.

You can type in LeClaire Courts in Google just to get a better notion of what the community is like and its summer tournaments or follow this link to the info that the Chicago Park District gave on the LeClaire Community: http://tinyurl.com/4txxu6f

Gang Influence

The entry to this blog talked about crime and delved briefly into the problems facing children in Chicago. The topic of today’s post deals with the prevalence of gangs in Chicago.

Chicago is in many ways the mecca for gangs in America. Since I was a child even living in Galewood, which is one of the western most cities in Chicago. The borders of Galewood are Austin to the east, Harlem to the west, and North Avenue to the south but I am not sure how far north it goes.

Well anyways, I grew around the Sayre park area of Galewood. Even as a young boy growing up I would go with my friends to the viaduct next to Sayre Park. There were always kids who were smoking weed or getting into fights and I began to notice that no matter how many times the viaduct would get a fresh coat of white painting by the park district, gang graffiti would be up the next morning.

In that area I can remember seeing graffiti from just about every gang in Chicago but I noticed that the four corner hustlers (4CH), Vice Lords, and the Gay Lords were always present. The Gay Lords are a people’s nation gang that controlled the Sayre Park area and if you do a search on the internet you can find a lot more about their history in Chicago. The gang is sold old that their gang name was derived before the word ‘gay’ meant what it has come to mean today.

I can remember a gang member who lived down the block from my house. He had a huge Rottweiler in his back yard that went crazy one day and nearly ripped my friends arm off and killed him but, thankfully he was heavy so he was able to survive and keep his arm. That gang member later was shot and is now paralyzed in a wheel chair.

It is wild that I have been so exposed to gangs in Chicago despite the fact that I have not grown up in a horrible neighborhood. I have been quite privileged to be honest but still I find myself sometimes wondering how bad it must be for young children growing up in the heart of gang territory where violence and the influence to be violent is almost unbearable.

I am getting off track hear a bit but I just wanted to let you readers know that I have grown up in Chicago, and in High School being in the Austin neighborhood and many other west side and south side neighborhoods with friends I have seen firsthand how gang culture has developed a tight grasp not only on the city but the families and children inhabiting the city.

Gangs get a hold of the children in the neighborhoods they operate in before the school systems get a chance to educate them. In most cases parents know the ills of gang life but find it difficult to steer their very impressionable youth from being sucked into gang life.

I believe that gang violence and the problems they cause are not going to go any time soon. Matter of fact, it will never go away. If there are individuals living in poverty without a chance at an honest pay check then they will turn to the streets were strength comes in numbers, as well as guns and drugs.

I think the key to this dilemma is finding an engaging an effective way to stop these children from choosing gang life. We need more programs for children after school and it wouldn’t hurt if money was put into renovating the poverty stricken neighborhoods of Chicago without totally kicking out its residents and making room for high income condo’s and apartments.

With the Chicago mayoral vote tomorrow I will be getting up early to head over to my voting post to hopefully choose the right candidate that will make these changes in the immediate future. Happy voting Chicago.

Crime....

The one thing that is really hurting the chances of the youth in Chicago are the prevalence of crime on the streets of Chicago. In February of 2009 the death of Derrion Albert gained national attention when cell phone video footage of his murder being dealt out by other teenagers in a group brawl surfaced on the internet.

I can remember seeing the video of the incident when it was originally posted on a number of video blog’s. In the description of those video’s there wasn’t much information on the attack and it wasn’t even clear if anyone had died due to the beating.

In the video you can see a young man swinging a huge piece of wood and hitting another teen who turned out to be Derrion Albert. I can remember thinking to myself, did anyone die or was someone just hurt. It turns out that later that day or possibly a few days later the death of Derrion Albert was reported on and the video footage I had seen on the internet was shown in its entirety for quiet dome time.

Its stories like this that show exactly what is standing in the way of children succeeding in life if they live in Chicago. Derrion Albert didn’t get a chance to finish school go to college and pursue a career. Rather his life was cut short and the lives of those who were responsible for his death are also in jeopardy. This incident alone has seriously hurt the futures of a large number of young inner city residents.

What you may call good news about all of this is that recently crime has dropped in Chicago. With a mayoral election coming up this Tuesday on February 22, I hope whoever is elected manages to keep this decrease in crime going into 2012 so we can stop incidents like the passing of Derrion Albert from happening.

Introduction

This blog was started to raise awareness and money for the inner-city youth of Chicago. i started it for a class project and hope to make some positive impacts for the cause that could not only benefit the youth but also the city of Chicago.