When I ran for school board it was Betsy Hodges, the former Minneapolis mayor, who was the first elected official to endorse me. She asked me a lot of questions, offered some straight talk about the political system and spoke very clearly about what it takes to win in a Whiter than White town like Minneapolis. Later, after winning a…
Tag: Progressive Cities
Why Are Black Families Leaving Chicago? Maybe Our Kids Can’t Wait for Better Schools.
My hometown of Chicago has touted itself as a progressive city for many years. We’ve stood firm in our position as a sanctuary city and recently moved towards the legalization of marijuana—pushing a social equity initiative to ensure people in blighted areas have skin in the weed game. We even formed a progressive caucus within the city council in 2013. We also received national…
Our Kids Can’t Wait Till You Show Up for Them on Tuesday Night
Chicago, our kids can’t wait–and we’re not going to make them wait anymore, either. Our kids can no longer wait on our city’s leadership or Chicago Public Schools to figure out how to close the opportunity gaps that exist between Black, Latino and White students. I recently wrote about brightbeam’s report, “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray…
Chicago, It’s on All of Us to Close the Gaps for Black and Brown Children
Enough is enough. I’m kicking off 2020 with less talk and more action. I need all concerned Chicagoans on deck at the Our Kids Can’t Wait: Education Town Hall on February 25. Our Black and Brown students are in crisis, and the only way we’ll make real progress is if the whole community unifies and puts pressure on our leaders…
Dr. King Would Have Shined a Light on the Shame of ‘Progressive’ Cities. So Should We.
On the day that the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was taken in 1968 he had become increasingly focused on the least of these, the poor, people suffering in the margins, families left behind as the country’s economic prosperity boomed and the U.S. found it easy to fund its war machine. Today we will once again honor Dr.…