My (almost) 5-year-old is super excited about September 12th. That’s the day when she and her 3-year-old brother will start their fall schedule as homeschool students. As we enter into another “Back to School” season, my heart is breaking for the thousands of families across Chicago that do not have that same sense of certainty about when school is going…
Author: Chris Butler
Killing Black Children on The Front End and On the Back
Two major news announcements were made in Chicago on Friday. And I find a striking and sickening parallel between them. The first piece of buried news was the release of the available video of the shooting of an unarmed, 18-year-old Black “man” last week at the hands of a Chicago Police officer. The second was the announcement that 480 Chicago…
I Supported Hillary Before It Was Cool, Now I Hope She Does the Right Thing By Kids
I went on record as a Hillary Clinton supporter before it was the easiest thing to do. Now I hope that Hillary will return the favor when it comes to standing firm on her support for high standards in education and school choice. Back in March of this year it looked like Bernie Sanders had a reasonable shot at being…
Donald Trump Got It Right on School Choice. How About Hillary?
Even a broken clock is right twice per day. If you listened to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, you might find that this saying is apropos. You probably heard a lot of things you didn’t like. But, how about his stance on the right of parents to choose a high quality school environment for their children? Now,…
F— The Police
I’m going to have to stand in a pulpit with the team of church leaders at my church in Englewood on Sunday. Our congregation is Black. Our community is Black. We are Black. It will be difficult do leave the issue of the execution of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the countless other Black people unaddressed in the gathering.…
A Tribute To Abner Mikva: A Giant Among Men
I heard Abner Mikva’s story before I ever met Abner Mikva. I was a 7th grader on the Westside of Chicago – desperately addicted to Windy City politics, community organizing and the like – when I picked up Milton Rakove’s “We Don’t Want Nobody Nobody Sent”. The title was taken from a story that was related to Rakove about a…
Can’t We All Just Get Along? CTU Should Focus On Springfield First
When I saw this story about the latest Chicago Teachers Union protest coming to downtown Chicago, I heard a voice of wisdom from my childhood… Seriously folks. The craziness has to stop. The Chicago Teachers Union should simply not be clouding the message and giving cover to Governor Rauner while we still need a budget and a long-term fix to…
Letter from an Angry Black Father
It’s Father’s Day weekend and I know that I shouldn’t be associating anger with this cherished Hallmark holiday. But, I can’t help it…Father’s Day is a very reflective time for me. And as a citizen of a state that can’t figure out how to educate children and a city where black folks get shot in broad daylight in front of…