The historic closings of over 50 schools left a gaping void in a plethora of neighborhoods in Chicago—2013 was the year of active protest against school shutdowns that primarily affected Black and Brown communities. The Chicago Beat (a branch of Young Chicago Authors) began a journalism project in conjunction with several youths in the city over a year ago, in which they sought to collect oral stories from residents in communities affected by the closings. The result of the project was the publication of 50 and Counting: Freedom in Education; in addition to oral testimonies, the book includes poems and personal reflections. What the young journalists discovered in their research and interviews was how deeply rooted the schools were, the danger of students attending schools in rival gang neighborhoods, the fallacies of “underutilization” and that very often the receiving schools students were sent to were doing just as poorly as the schools that were being shut down. They emphasized the importance of education was to the areas that were a part of the closing sweep.
One student named Nita spoke passionately about what she would do about school closings if she were mayor of the city as opposed to Rahm Emmanuel. “If I had to close the schools, I would turn them into an enrichment place, like a youth center, or an organization where kids could be themselves, and better themselves in the communities that they are shutting down,” she stated at the book’s release event. “Why would you shut them down in the communities where school is important? Education is important; we need to be educated.” 50 and Counting: Freedom in Education is out now—cop that.
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ATS MagAgainst the Stream Magazine is an urban platform. We edify our readers by finding noble, pure, and true talent and giving it a stage to flourish. While we love bragging about the folks around us, we also tackle urban issues by giving real world solutions. Archives
September 2015
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