Alternative title: If you saw teens acting a natural fool downtown and your response was “keep that shit in the hood,” you ARE the problem.
From first grade to sixth, I went to Poe Classical. I tried for kindergarten, but I didn’t get in. Luckily, my pre-k/kindergarten/primary school teacher extraordinaire was a godsend, and she tutored me for a year so that I’d pass my second attempt at the selective enrollment entrance exam. Had she not been there, or had my mother been a little less knowledgeable of selective enrollment schools and the importance of higher education, I could have gone to a neighborhood school or ended up just like those kids we saw downtown this month. The hot weather would’ve brought me out of the house and onto the street where I would bask in my newfound freedom -- not having to wear layers of clothing to stay warm -- and do all the things that growing up in the hood taught me were the best ways to have fun.
I went to Poe. And that set me up to go to Brooks, and they’re setting me up to get into a top-10 college. And that comes with a specific culture where, although it isn’t perfect, it’s not the norm for people to fight daily and have regular confrontations with security guards.
So when I read comments like “where are their parents?” and “what is making our kids into little devils?” all I can think about is the fact that it could’ve been me, and it could’ve been my friends, and if we were to place all of the blame for these kids’ actions on their parents, it would be ignoring the systematic, and eventually cultural, disenfranchisement that black people have always faced in this city.
I went to Poe. And that set me up to go to Brooks, and they’re setting me up to get into a top-10 college. And that comes with a specific culture where, although it isn’t perfect, it’s not the norm for people to fight daily and have regular confrontations with security guards.
So when I read comments like “where are their parents?” and “what is making our kids into little devils?” all I can think about is the fact that it could’ve been me, and it could’ve been my friends, and if we were to place all of the blame for these kids’ actions on their parents, it would be ignoring the systematic, and eventually cultural, disenfranchisement that black people have always faced in this city.
My mom was raised in a stable household and both her mom and dad, though not together, were in her life. She went through high school and got several degrees, supported by both of her parents. My dad was raised in the projects by his grandmother and aunties because both of his parents were dead. His mom was a prostitute; his dad, her pimp. It shouldn’t be hard to imagine how their parenting styles differed, and had I had two parents who were raised in the same climate as my dad was, I would be a very different person. I wouldn’t have access to the spaces that my mom ensured that I was in, and I wouldn’t have the same character or sense of purpose that I have because of my mom pushing me to reach even higher than she could. I’m privileged in my own way, but many teens aren’t, and what pisses me off is that other people don’t understand this.
I was a part of a conversation recently where a girl said, “Teenagers aren’t going to go to ‘programs’ to keep them out of trouble. They’re gonna think that they’re too good for that.” She was referring to Brandon Johnson’s statement about the incident: “[We will] create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.”
The thing is, she’s right. Teens, especially the teens that were out there, the ones who captioned a video of them beating up a woman with the caption “Yay we get active,” aren’t going to go to those programs. But the fact that we didn’t have those programs in the first place is the reason that this is a problem now. Directing the youth to constructive ways to spend their time should’ve begun a long time ago.
The thing is, she’s right. Teens, especially the teens that were out there, the ones who captioned a video of them beating up a woman with the caption “Yay we get active,” aren’t going to go to those programs. But the fact that we didn’t have those programs in the first place is the reason that this is a problem now. Directing the youth to constructive ways to spend their time should’ve begun a long time ago.
Anyways, let’s talk about what I really wrote this article for.
The video I mentioned earlier about the group of people beating up a white woman with the caption “Yay we get active” had hundreds of comments under it, and the most liked ones were… concerning, to say the least. It was incredibly polarizing, with some people praising the kids and others condemning them, but one thing was glaringly obvious: the hardship caused in the black community due to trying to fit into white standards of beauty and culture have ultimately led to many of us not knowing how to solve the problems that our race faces without either encouraging ongoing issues within the community as some sort of "reparations" or shaming blackness altogether. A few sample comments beneath the video I mentioned earlier:
“Well, that’s what her ancestors did to us.”
“Now if she hates black people for her entire life, I won’t blame her.”
“I don’t care. These are reparations.”
“She’s gonna be scared of black people for the rest of her life because of this.”
"Why would y'all do that in front of white people?"
Do you see what I mean? Instead of approaching the situation with some critical thinking, people are either arguing that this will make it okay for white people to racially profile us or that it’s somehow okay for a group of people to beat up an innocent woman because she’s… white?
The video I mentioned earlier about the group of people beating up a white woman with the caption “Yay we get active” had hundreds of comments under it, and the most liked ones were… concerning, to say the least. It was incredibly polarizing, with some people praising the kids and others condemning them, but one thing was glaringly obvious: the hardship caused in the black community due to trying to fit into white standards of beauty and culture have ultimately led to many of us not knowing how to solve the problems that our race faces without either encouraging ongoing issues within the community as some sort of "reparations" or shaming blackness altogether. A few sample comments beneath the video I mentioned earlier:
“Well, that’s what her ancestors did to us.”
“Now if she hates black people for her entire life, I won’t blame her.”
“I don’t care. These are reparations.”
“She’s gonna be scared of black people for the rest of her life because of this.”
"Why would y'all do that in front of white people?"
Do you see what I mean? Instead of approaching the situation with some critical thinking, people are either arguing that this will make it okay for white people to racially profile us or that it’s somehow okay for a group of people to beat up an innocent woman because she’s… white?
The sheer amount of self-hatred in minority communities that people claim not to have is tearing us apart. Not to say that these kids shouldn’t be held accountable, and not to say that they should be thrown to the bottom of the jail, but if people were more concerned about the wellbeing of black youth than the white gaze, I wouldn’t really have to clarify that at all.
The self-hatred has been ingrained in our community for a very long time. And it's not necessarily our fault. After all, black people didn't start calling afros nappy until white people did. We wouldn't be shaming each other for being "ghetto" if we weren't trying to fit into the white world. And let's be honest-- y'all aren't just calling kids who cause mass public disturbances and break the law "ghetto." It's bright pink box buss downs and listening to rap music in predominantly white spaces and wearing a bonnet outside of the house that y'all are calling ghetto.
The self-hatred has been ingrained in our community for a very long time. And it's not necessarily our fault. After all, black people didn't start calling afros nappy until white people did. We wouldn't be shaming each other for being "ghetto" if we weren't trying to fit into the white world. And let's be honest-- y'all aren't just calling kids who cause mass public disturbances and break the law "ghetto." It's bright pink box buss downs and listening to rap music in predominantly white spaces and wearing a bonnet outside of the house that y'all are calling ghetto.
But then, at the same time, we aren't getting anywhere with BLM spokespeople going on the 7PM news and calling looting and rioting "reparations" after Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. And again, we saw it with these comments and this incident, where people sought to excuse the violence that these kids were committing by praising them for, at least, committing it against a white woman.
Do you see how neither of these approaches is getting us anywhere?
On the one hand, we can shame ourselves for being black. Any expression, actions, or appearances that are seen as embarrassing (or, because I like to just say what I mean, that white people wouldn't approve of) are shut down and condemned by the community. On the other, we can promote harmful actions that serve to perpetuate stereotypes and hatred towards the community while telling the world, "Hey, you drove us to this point, so anything that happens now is not our mess to deal with."
Do you see how neither of these approaches is getting us anywhere?
On the one hand, we can shame ourselves for being black. Any expression, actions, or appearances that are seen as embarrassing (or, because I like to just say what I mean, that white people wouldn't approve of) are shut down and condemned by the community. On the other, we can promote harmful actions that serve to perpetuate stereotypes and hatred towards the community while telling the world, "Hey, you drove us to this point, so anything that happens now is not our mess to deal with."
Again, the ideal solution to this problem would have been prevention, but that's not possible now. So how do we keep these kids out of the streets?
More police? No.
A curfew? No.
A straight up ban on teenagers going downtown? No.
How about checking all of the teens coming off of the Red Line (because people always want to blame it on kids coming off of the Red Line) for guns? No.
More police? No.
A curfew? No.
A straight up ban on teenagers going downtown? No.
How about checking all of the teens coming off of the Red Line (because people always want to blame it on kids coming off of the Red Line) for guns? No.
What we could have are more things to do in these communities that y'all want black teens to stay in. I've been at almost every stop before Sox-35th on the Red Line, and every stop is run down and has nothing going on, with the exception of Hyde Park (Garfield and 47th) (even though you still have to take a bus that's always late to get into Hyde Park from both of these stops) (but I digress). Now, Pullman is starting to become gentrified, so this fear of black people embarrassing ourselves in front of white people is probably discouraging black teens from taking advantage of the new updates in the community. So what do you want these kids to do? There's trash everywhere. There's nothing to do. It's dangerous. A solution could be to put money into these communities and actually work on fixing the crime rate so that every part of Chicago is livable and enjoyable and not just downtown, but y'all won't do that. Y'all won't do your research and elect aldermen who will make that happen. You barely elected Brandon Johnson to the mayoral office.
But it's black teens who are at fault?
But it's black teens who are at fault?
Maybe, just maybe, investing in our communities and youth programs might just be the way to go. Maybe, instead of leaving teens to figure out something fun to do themselves that won't bore them out of their minds or be super expensive, create things for them to do.
An Abbott Park cookout or Spring Break picnic would be the thing to do. Organizing a youth group so that they can tell you what would entertain their peers would be the thing to do. Shaming, or, contrarily, yet just as bad, enabling these teens is not the thing to do.
If you want to have a city that's safe and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of age or race, you have to actually make the city safe and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of age or race, instead of pushing marginalized teens into marginalized communities and expecting them not to come knocking at your door when those communities haven't done anything for them in all of the time that they've lived there.
An Abbott Park cookout or Spring Break picnic would be the thing to do. Organizing a youth group so that they can tell you what would entertain their peers would be the thing to do. Shaming, or, contrarily, yet just as bad, enabling these teens is not the thing to do.
If you want to have a city that's safe and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of age or race, you have to actually make the city safe and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of age or race, instead of pushing marginalized teens into marginalized communities and expecting them not to come knocking at your door when those communities haven't done anything for them in all of the time that they've lived there.
Trinity Jones
