I talk a lot about the trials and tribulations in this country as it relates to crime. I talk about it a lot because these trends tend to replicate themselves when you continue to have the same ingredients in place. In my 40 years of experience in fighting crime, the one thing that always came to the forefront is that real change came from a grassroots operation. Elected leaders are not the most effective change agents - it's those that are down in the trenches scratching day after day that really make a difference.
Pastor Corey Brooks - who is Black - has now spent over 60 days outside atop a roof to draw awareness to the violent crime problem in his hometown of Chicago, where recently five children were shot in less than 24 hours. Brooks shared with me his frustrations on the lack of support from elected officials, BLM leaders and the NAACP.
You called out the Black Lives Matter folks and the NAACP. They speak out when there are other issues, but they don't seem to be here for the day to day issues that are just ripping our communities apart.
Those organizations are making money off Black pain, but they're nowhere to be found when our community is struggling, trying to survive, and keep things going in a positive direction. They're quick to show up when there's a police shooting, but whenever we experience young Black brothers killing young Black brothers or the other victims of crime in our neighborhood, like these five children, you never hear from them. That's a problem we need to deal with as leaders and stand against it.
I said that if you're going to affect change in the community, it has to be a grassroots effort. Do you find that to be your experience?
We're seeing more and more people get involved at a grassroots level everyday. There's so many organizations in Chicago that are trying to make things better. We've come to the realization that we cannot wait for the government to change things for us. Citizens have to roll up our sleeves and go to work.
What is the most important thing you’re trying to accomplish and what is the most frustrating thing that you have dealt with in your crusade?
I think the most frustrating thing is getting enough resources to build a center to fight violence and poverty. Getting those resources is very difficult. A lot of people are placing money into organizations that are not helping at the grassroots level… for me, the most frustrating thing is solving this whole problem of violence, seeing individuals being shot and killed after you poured so much time into their lives.
