Every week, on my Changing the Narrative with Cecil Grant Jr Facebook page, I take you on a trip to Chicago. It's not a vacation. It's a trip into the weekend violence that has a grip on this city and won't let go. I've posted articles and done podcast about the mess that is Chicago, since April of 2021. The gang violence is out of control. The city government and Mayor Lori Lightfoot continue to focus on doing what's politically correct verses protecting the citizens of this great city. The inability of those in charge to actually take charge is mind numbing. The number of young adults and children being shot randomly, anywhere and anytime of the day or night is scary.
Just like those who live in Chicago, the continuous reporting and posting of the "weekend violence in Chicago" has in many ways made me numb to this crisis. Reflecting on what I just wrote is disturbing to me, and confirms in some way, why the mainstream media and others yawn at the violence in Chicago and other major cities. Their thoughts are, it's not affecting my life.
We could place the blame for this violence on Mayor Lightfoot, or blame those who want to "defund the police". We could give a side-eye to the "catch and release" policies seemingly in place at the office of Kim Foxx, the city's district attorney. We could blame it on racism, the lack of good jobs or the poor education provided by the teachers union that is running the cities educational system into the ground.
The city leadership attempts to cover up the real issues by blaming the violence on guns and guns alone. I did a podcast that discusses the really issues for the violence in Chicago.
At the end of the day it could be a combination of a lot of things, or it could be something no one has ever talked about or considered. Either way the problem is real and not just happening in Chicago. This is a nationwide problem. Crime is up, criminal behavior is supported and justified by groups such as Black Lives Matter. Cities with increased violence, continue to work on "defunding the police". The impact of gang violence is small in some states but still a problem.
Here in Jacksonville, Florida, 6 people were shot and 2 killed over the Halloween weekend. Compare that to 26 people shot, 6 killed in Chicago that same weekend. It appears, in Jacksonville, the leadership sees the development of a problem and are attempting to get ahead of it. Thanks to President Joe Biden and the "outstanding efforts" of Vice President Kamala Harris to secure the wide open boards ("Let's go Brandon!") the problems are going to become worse and more difficult to control as the influx of illegal immigrants, and criminals flood the streets of America with the help of the federal government.
This is not the time to put our head in the sand and ignore this issue. The time for action was yesterday but if you decide to start today, I'll open the door on this fast moving train so you can climb aboard and begin to install local change.
Author, podcaster and businessman, Jim Fini wrote, what I believe to be, a very important book that discusses the need to ignite change from the local level. The title of his book is " Locally Grown: The Art of Sustainable Government". I firmly believe in his premise. Bottom- up movements create lasting change. It's how a home is build; from the bottom up. The foundation and the ensuing structure being the most critical parts.
In the area of violence in cities, what can we do locally? Where, what or who is the foundation and the structure? The foundation is the family unit. The structure is the community of families and other community members stepping up, not just to react to issues, but taking proactive measures to prevent these life altering events from taking place.
Being shot and killed obviously changes your life, but so does being shot at, being shot and wounded, or seeing someone being shot.
I do not wish these events on anyone, but it is not only adults experiencing this violence. Children, or dare I say babies, are being shot and killed, some being shot and surviving. What sort of life is this?
I don't want to make it sound as if stopping the spread of gang or random violence is simple or easy, because it's not. It takes time and resources but you'd be surprised at how little time and resources it really takes if everyone becomes involved. It takes getting out in front of the issue before it becomes a problem where you live.
It's tough to undo what has already been done in some homes and communities. This is the problem in Chicago. The violence didn't start last year. It's been going on for decades with no real solutions provided. Talking about the violence and asking the bad guys to "lay down their weapons" is simplistic and condescending to the victims.
Families like those of Jaslyn Adams, Serenity Broughton, and Mychal Poultry Jr., a 4 year old boy shot and killed while getting his hair braided over the Labor Day weekend, want and need less talk and more action.
The fight must begin with the citizens at the local level. In Louisiana, a group of fathers recently formed a group called "Dad's on Duty". These local dad's are providing a male presents and a local solution for a high school in their community. Their mission is to be present in the school and be there for students. There efforts have reduced the in school fights to zero and the school is now a safe place to learn.
It takes opening your home to children who are friends with your children and providing a positive influence and environment for them when they may not have that at home. It takes having tough conversations with your children and their friends about expectations. It takes maintaining basic standards and having and enforcing rules and providing discipline when needed. Children allowed to raise themselves usually do not turn out well. Properly disciplining children is a lost art, creating children that become out of control, entitled brats.
The Bible, a book we need to get back to, says,
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.
My parents lived by this rule:
" Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him." Proverbs 22:15.
Finally,
"The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." Proverbs 29:15
It takes having a movie night at your home on a Friday or Saturday night or providing hot dogs and chips as a pre-game meal to a few of your children's teammates before a game. It take you volunteering to mentor a child at the local school.
Doing these things impacts your children as well. They will see you having enough love for them and others who need love and attention. If you're blessed, your children will follow your lead when they become adults.
These are just a few of the things my wife and I did with children who wanted to be friends with our sons. You can do the same with your girls but for the most part it is not the girls running the streets shooting or being shot. Don't get me wrong, we never lived anywhere that could have been considered a dangerous neighborhood, but we still provided a positive environment for children who came to our home.
I could restart by discussing the need for two parent households, but that, from time to time, is just as much a problem as a single parent home. Especially if the parents are immature and not really interested in raising their children.
Finally, we, as a community, need to be more involved in the education of our children. This blog will not discuss that topic, but suffice it to say this is not an easy fix. It requires community involvement and is a very important step in helping to diminish the allure of the criminal lifestyle.
Chicago.
Is this a city lost to violence forever? I don't know; I hope not.
I am attempting to bring awareness to the issues in Chicago and pray that it causes the scales to fall from your eyes so you can wake up and see these warning signs before they become issues where you live. Although 6 shootings and 2 deaths in the city of Jacksonville is nothing to cheer about, imagine living in Chicago, where 20 + shooting is the norm every weekend and 6-10 deaths is the expectation.
This is not a discussion meant to target any specific race. Everyone, everywhere, needs to make the effort to give back and get involved in their community. Do not retreat to your gated neighborhoods or homes protected with guns and malfunctioning security systems. This is everyone's issue and everyone needs to step up and become involved in securing the safety of their community: from the CEO who lives in a million dollar mansion to the janitor who helps maintain the school.
If everyone does not pitch in and lend a hand, sharing their time, talents and treasures, it'll only be a matter of time before where you live resembles the mean streets of Chicago.
Get off the sidelines and get involved, before a city near you becomes like Chicago.