I thought about a lot of things this weekend. When I read the Chicago Tribune’s Chicago Flashback article, “Chicago’s ‘Wall of Respect” Inspired Outdoor Tribute Across U.S.”, I felt bothered by the fact that I’m a native Chicagoan and never heard of this important piece of Chicago history. I never knew about this 1967 mural by William Walker, depicting influential and important figures in Black history. Maybe I hadn’t heard of it because it was torn down after a fire in the building in 1971, or maybe because it was considered too revolutionary, or maybe even because I went to white schools that didn’t teach that in Chicago History classes (which I took in 7th and 8th grade). It could have been a combination of all those things. You can decide for yourselves.
This led me to think about other history class omissions such as the Haymarket Riot in Chicago and numerous other labor related protests; the 1967 Detroit riots and any other race related protests; and even the Japanese internment camps and the Holocaust. They say if we don’t learn history (and learn from it); history will repeat itself. My point is, we need to learn about all the history…both good and bad in order to become a better society.
Then (as it usually does), all this made me think about the violent crime problem in Chicago and how serious and complex it really is. There are so many elements and layers of society involved, so everyone needs to work together in a consolidated and coordinated effort to reduce the shootings and homicides in Chicago. The effort should include all the organizations and individuals that are already making a difference in their own right, such as civil, business, social, educational and religious organizations. But they need to team up and work together to strategically address and solve the problem. Hopefully, then Chicago can go back to being the beautiful city of neighborhoods that it should be!