I’ve seen the issue of why don’t Chicagoans protest the violence and killings crop up as a media question over and over. Here, a DNAinfo reporter lists the various protests that have been going on but have not ignited a unified response from either the larger community nor elected officials.
I think the way the shootings and violence are reported, by vague neighborhoods, without reference to what Ward they occur in, and who the alderman and police commander of the district where the tragedies occur, end up disempowering people and are a form of institutional racism, where broad areas of the city are treated like they are terra incognito by reporters.
Chicagoans were protesting, marching and engaging in important discussions across the city long before the video emerged … and they still are.
“People are working on this issue every day, addressing it, and putting a focus on it. The problem is not whether people in the community are addressing it. The real question is if the broader city is addressing it enough or if the media is addressing it enough,” said outspoken anti-violence activist the Rev. Michael Pfleger.
Barbara K Iverson 