CHICAGO CRUSADER 10-17-2015_1-767248270.e$S_Sheriff 9/8/07 2007 10/15/15 3:22 AM Page 1
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Blacks Must Control Their Own Community
•C•P•V•S• AUDITED BY
To The Unconquerable Host of Africans Who Are Laying Their Sacrifices Upon The Editorial Altar For Their Race VOLUME LXXV NUMBER 26—SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015
PUBLISHED SINCE 1940
Barbara Byrd Bennett falls
Homeless activists sleep at City Hall Chicago Crusader staff report
By J. Coyden Palmer As she stood in front of a throng of reporters gathered inside the federal court building in downtown Chicago Tuesday morning, disgraced former schools CEO Dr. Barbara Byrd-Bennett appeared contrite, embarrassed, scared and disheveled. The grandmother of twin boys had just pled guilty of attempting to steal $2.3 million of taxpayer money that was meant to educate the children and grandchildren of Chicago residents in a kickback scheme, which involves at least two others. Byrd-Bennett was only the second African American female selected to the post. Dr. Ruth Love (1981-85) was the first. Byrd-Bennett’s selection in 2012 was seen as progress for Black women in education, a group that is seeing declining numbers within CPS and a chance to improve the education curriculum for a district comprised mostly of African American students. “The circumstances surrounding the indictment of the former CEO are unfortunate and mark a sad day for the leadership of our district,” said Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, who worked closely with Byrd-Bennett to secure the last teacher’s contract in 2012. Byrd-Bennett gave an exclusive interview to the Crusader in October 2012. During the 30-minute interview she spoke about better financial literacy for students, how she would become more visible at CPS sporting events, a universal core curriculum and how she planned to stick around for a long time in the position. Byrd-Bennett’s main focus however was giving more opportunities to Black and Latino students. “I’m not pulling anybody down, I’m talking about all boats rising,” said ByrdBennett in 2012. “One of the things that we’ve found in communities for African American children is that often there isn’t anyone in the family that can teach financial literacy. Well who must do that? We have to.” Now Chicago’s Black children are learning a different financial lesson from Byrd(Continued on page 3)
25 Cents and worth more
Chicago to Washington Anniversary of Million Man March highlights the impact of Chicago’s powerful social activists By Erick Johnson WASHINGTON—We came from a city that in recent years has been known for its community activism. On a trip to the nation’s capital some 700 miles from Chicago, I decided to join those who were on their way to a city where some of the most famous demonstrations in American history have taken place. Chicago is a city where protesters often make headlines for challenging the establishment with daring moves. It’s where protesters nearly starved themselves to death to keep a high school in Washington Park from closing. Another group led the effort to bring a trauma unit to Chicago’s South Side. And, the nation remembers several years ago when an army of teachers shut down the country’s third largest school district to demand better pay and working conditions. With so many protests occurring in
Chicago, it was no surprise that the city had a heavy presence at the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March on Saturday, October 10. Here, the muscle and resilience of Chicago’s activists would become apparent at the majestic Capitol Building, a historic landmark built with the help of slaves. In early reports, as many as 1,000 people from Chicago attended the event on a crisp fall morning, including some 50 students from Chicago State University who boarded two buses that left their school on Friday. For three hours, there would be many Chicagoans and hundreds of thousands of Blacks from across the country to hear Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan welcome a new, but young, generation of social activists who are challenging political establishments all across America. The sea of spectators who nearly filled the National Mall heard references to Chicago (Continued on page 2)
With temperatures falling, a handful of activists spent the night outside City Hall on Tuesday to force Chicago’s political leaders to address the growing problems facing thousands of homeless persons in the city. The move comes as city leaders hold contentious budget hearings to deal with Chicago’s $426 million budget deficit. As they spar over proposed cuts to city services and programs, activists from the Chicago Housing Initiative (CHI) sent a message to City Hall to ensure that Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not overlook an estimated 126, 000 homeless people, including 63,000 families who are living on the city’s gritty streets. The numbers come from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), which conducts mandated counts of homeless people twice a year. According to the CCH, there are 20,205 homeless students attending Chicago Public Schools and about 98 percent of those students are Black. Calling attention to the problem, several activists from the Chicago Housing Initiative were among 23 people who slept outside the building under layers of clothing and sleeping bags in temperatures that dropped to 51 degrees overnight. The group began their sleep-in following a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in front of City Hall. The demonstration ended just before City Hall opened at 8 a.m. the next day. The first group to testify at the city’s annual budget hearing at City Hall, the activists urged Emanuel and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) to release $440 million of federal funds as the homelessness in the city increases. They also accused CHA of withholding 11,000 available housing vouchers and keeping over 2,800 public housing units vacant. “We’re trying to get the message to the mayor,” said Leah Levinger, spokesperson for the CHI. “The Chicago Housing Authority is sitting on surplus money and is unwilling to release any of it.” According to the CHA, 30,000 families remain on the waiting list for public housing. In addition, 50,000 applicants are on the waiting list to receive housing vouchers and 16,000 applicants are still waiting for property rental assistance. (Continued on page 2)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Coming October 17 Chicago Crusader-Politics A monthly newsletter See page 7 for details