Let’s not forget that Black women have the highest turnout among any group in the Democratic Party, yet they are perpetually told that it’s not their time to lead, and they need to defer to white candidates, both men women.
So these fabulous women are taking local action. Good for them. Chicago is the perfect city for this.
NYT - please follow up with these leaders in a few years!
114
Nationally, it looks like Black women are having an impact in the realm of entrepreneurship, as well:
Sep 9, 2018, 08:00am
Black Women Entrepreneurs: The Good And Not-So-Good News
Kerry Hannon Contributor Next Avenue
Contributor Group
Retirement
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/09/09/black-women-entrepreneurs-the-good-and-not-so-good-news/#4ebec8d56ffe
“ According to The 2018 State of Women-Owned Business Report commissioned by American Express, while the number of women-owned businesses grew an impressive 58% from 2007 to 2018, the number of firms owned by black women grew by a stunning 164%, nearly three times that rate.”
7
It does seem to me that whether we like it or not a lot of people are going to have to change their attitudes about taxes. No one likes taxes but they are the life blood of government action to solve problems.
Past generations of politicians have squandered public trust and tax revenue with corruption. Whether the present generation can do any better remains to be seen. One can only hope they do.
I am reminded of President Kennedy's, ask not what the nation can do for you but rather what you do for the nation.
13
Progressivism is from the liberal tradition and represented the effort to promote progress, to build on the good and to remedy injustices to allow more to enjoy the benefits of the system. Progressives were not revolutionaries they were reformers. They challenged monopolistic corporate power not to involve public say in corporate governance but to enable competition to flourish. Regulations to protection society not to control businesses. Labor laws to enable labor to negotiate for their far share of the productivity of their labor.
Those who label themselves as Progressives are now not reformers but revolutionaries and people who desire to disempower and to replace stereotyped groups of people who they see having oppressed them. Mostly their resentments and desires for payback are well justified but they lead to conflict and dissolution not to people living and working together in harmony.
6
Thank you for your article. I have met or heard of many of the women mentioned and every time I do I know that Chicago will be in good hands.
After I attended a panel discussion with several of the mayoral candidates earlier this, I was not surprised that Lori Lightfoot is going to be our mayor. It is a natural development for this great city. There is a great shift in the demography of the city council members. Many of the old white guys are out and the black and Latino aldermen and women are in. Finally, Chicagoans can really be heard.
8
So delighted to see that women are leading in the progressive movement, and they keep rolling. These are the kind of articles I want to read on nytimes, not what Melania wore at an event or what she did to change the garden.
17
We will see. The NYTimes should not become Fox by touting a recently elected citizen as the next great thing. Chicago like New York City has big problems and solving one usually creates unintended consequences. So let’s wait and see whether she can fix things or she, like so many before her get stuck in the mud of Chicago politics.
14
Salamishah, are you dancing around the issue of differential white and black overall achievement? If not, what is so special about achievers who happen to be black?
10
As a Chicagoan, I do applaud a lot of the work being done by these women. At the same time, Kim Foxx is not such a hero. Her behavior with regard to Jussie Smollett was and continues to be wholly unprofessional. We need those records unsealed. His hoax cost this city a lot of money and time and yet, apparently, because he is black and she is black, it's ok? Why? Additionally, Chicago in general was tired of Rahm. He made many promises he could not keep, including upping police numbers in troubled areas. This article makes no mention of the black men who are the main source of killing and injuring in this city. The gang problem continues, unabated, and is now moving into the suburbs, where problems ensue. Why is gang culture so attractive to so many black men? And what are these accomplished activists doing about it?
119
@atb "And what are these accomplished activists doing about it?"
Did we just read the same article? It described these women working to raise the minimum wage, to address the violence committed by the police, to prosecute men (like R. Kelly) who commit violence against women, and to support women who survive such violence in taking care of themselves and finding their voices. I can't think of a group of people doing more about the violence in their communities.
The appeal of joining a gang isn't a secret. You can find many interviews of gang members, even gang members specifically from Chicago. I'm no expert, but off the top of my head, I remember gang members saying they joined that life because they needed money, they needed respect, they grew up in constant danger whether they joined a gang or not, and they were brought up with certain beliefs about masculinity. The women in this article are tirelessly addressing all of those issues. I salute them.
76
Stealing from other poor people and killing other children are not acts driven by want but by maliciousness. Poverty does increase dysfunctional behaviors and frustration leads to fury but blindly targeting people to vent rage is a moral failure.
14
Great article. Keep identifying and classifying people by their race and genders. Identity politics is a sure winner.
123
@Happy Conservative Quite right. As a minority in South Africa it can be disconcerting.
Our elections just completed, showed an alarming polarising trend. Not something Nelson would have been happy about.
Yet I live in a city that smells like a sewage farm because some part of the system broke down and there were no spare parts to stop 700 thousand plus litres (per hour) of effluent entering out harbour. Nearly a month later it is still not fixed as they had to "import" the parts.
By the way our executive mayor is a black woman out on bail and has still not resigned.
7
@Happy Conservative
Black people in the USA have always been identified by race and are still to this day incarcerated more than any other group because of their race. This group of people will rise up to lead the country as they have endured the most and risen to the occasion. Proven by President Obama.
12
@Happy Conservative
Right, as though continually voting for white men isn’t an act of identity politics.
39
Great to see that black women are taking power in Chicago.
I guess that means the sky-high murder rates and aching poverty will shrink significantly within a year or two, right?
Why does anyone believe that women leaders will do any better than men, or black leaders do better than white?
Chicago and all the big cities face major problems; people of all genders need to work together to solve them.
Why is it necessary to play the gender and the race card simultaneously? Or at all?
158
@Mon Ray -- "Why is it necessary to play the gender and the race card simultaneously?" Because this is what the NYT does these days.
27
@Mon Ray Because activism is an industry, and for some people it's replaced actual employment as a source of income. Also, those in power are the ones whose story is taken as fact. And it seems very important to black activists, especially women, to be seen in a flattering light that plays into their narcissism, racial supremacy, and need for self aggrandizement.
12
@Mon Ray men have been screwing up our country/world for centuries. Why not give women a chance. We could not possibly do any worse.
22
It's going to take more than angry marches and protests. Black women gave their entire hearts and souls to the Black Panthers in Oakland and Watts- The black activism movement today is social media driven and doesn't amount to anything. Huey Newton demanded his sisters donate time in Panther food banks and they selflessly fed the poor school children of Oakland. I doubt you'll see that activity and commitment today- short of a "go fund me page".. BLM and other new age black progressives never give- they just show up for the photo op.
3
@Aaron Huey Newton murdered a woman for calling him "baby". Can't figure out why those who still rage about those responsible for the murder of Emett Till for whistling at a white woman are willing to forgive Newton for a similar crime.
11
Yes let us praise Assata’s Daughters named after Assata Shakur better known as Joanne Chesimard who was convicted (unjustly of course) of murdering a NJ State Trooper and then was broken out of prison and is now living under government protection in Cuba. That group honor her for those actions. I wonder why The NY Times does not mention that.
18
This is incredibly racist. You are supporting candidates solely because of their skin color. Racism is disgusting in any form.
21
About 45% of young (20 to 24) black men in Chicago are unemployed and not enrolled in school. A city with tens of thousands of young men who have lost hope in themselves and their futures. Until these black women make meaningful work their number one priority through some type of jobs program, they will have no credibility regardless of how good their pontificating sounds.
8
What is this? A "Black Power" mark? Seriously sister, if you don't represent ALL people from Chicago you are no better than your predecessors, just feathering your nest like politicians before you.
Show us what you are made off.
15
I guess Kim Foxx’s blatant bigotry and corruption are in keeping with Chicago’s traditions.
17
Yes, well the leadership of Black women has worked wonders in Baltimore.
13
"Black women in Chicago getting things done"? Great, if this actually happens.
8
Unlike Michelle Obama neither Lori Lightfoot nor Toni Preckwinkle are from nor do they really know black women in Chicago. Nor are you. Chicago is not New York City.
Chicago is Ida B. Wells. Margaret T. Burroughs, Barbara A. Sizemore, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry, Mavis Staples. Carol Moseley Braun, Chaka Khan, Minnie Ripperton, Koko Taylor, Kim Foxx. Oprah Winfrey, Johnnie Coleman and Mahalia Jackson
4
I'm curious why there's not a SINGLE mention of :
--70% unwed black mothers and 56% fatherless black males?
--Black-on-black murders, which in 2016 took 7,881 black lives? In that same year police killed "only" 18 unarmed blacks, which is sad but hardly where BLM's focus should be.
18
For some reason the moderators of this posting site do not want to call attention to the fact that one of the groups being praised, Asatta's Daughters is named after and honors the person and principles of a convicted cop killer and wanted felon who with help escaped prison and is now hiding in Cuba. Please google their website and then do likewise for Asatta Shakur if you question those facts.
17
the authorities appear to have dropped the ball on Smollett. And I think the real test will be finding solutions to community issues of violence and poor education. Past efforts even by black leadership have not produce great results, perhaps because of limited resources. So parts of the puzzle will have to include both expanding resources and doing more with those available.
4
I wouldn't be so thrilled if I were these women to be inheriting the mess the City of Chicago finds itself in today. Chicago is $36 billion in debt, that works out to $190 thousand for every person living in Cook County. In truth is isn't just Chicago's problem, it bleeds out and into the whole state of Illinois. People with no connection to the city suffer because of the lack of leadership, integrity and honesty shown by Chicago's mayors. Until Chicago and Illinois as a state dig themselves out of the financial hole that has taken decades for them to create and roust the Chicago Speaker of the Illinois House, Mike Madigan who has led the charge into the poorhouse, nothing will change. Nothing.
4
@Kurt Pickard
My guess is that there will eventually be a Federal bailout of Chicago (and of Illinois and California and student loans and...).
Kim Foxx in Chicago, Getting Things Done!
Like letting celebrity hate hoaxer Jussie Smollett off.
14
@Steve Sailer
Kim Foxx is following in the footsteps of Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore, another Black Woman Getting Things Done!
And until earlier this month, the last three mayors of Baltimore were also Black Women Getting Things Done!
Baltimore is doing great!
13
Having grown up in NYC I have long come to believe that African-American women, including grandmothers have been the true paternal figures in African American society.
4
I LOVE these women, I love what they've accomplished. Illinois is on the move to building an economy and society which makes room for everyone.
The misogyny and the need to root for the failure of these women and for Illinois is predictable and tedious. Conservative oligarchs and their allies have pulled out all of the stops to protect their privilege and derail our moves for social justice and a strong economy (check out the the divergent economic histories of progressive Minnesota and conservative Wisconsin since 2010). That campaign belittles these women, focuses on problems and revels in setbacks.
The sour comments are on message. Those writers are complicit in supporting the hurt. Scuttle back to the superior observer narrative that nourishes your tiny minds and pinched souls. These women drove the train out of the station. The naysayers are left to stew in their bile and malice and to make sour comments.
Chicago and Illinois have problems, America has problems. People have problems. It's called life. These women rolled up their sleeves and are working to solve them. There will be failures, set backs and things will go wrong, just like there will be for the sour folks.
They work to make things better, not perfect, better. When they resolve, improve the current problems, new ones will arise and circumstances will change. That doesn't mean they've failed, they're setting the table for the next generation to succeed. They ROCK!!
19
@sue harney well said!
4
A rising tide lifts all boats. Thank for highlighting this small (and growing) group of committed citizens. It is the essence of America striving for our promise.
13
I wish these new leaders well not just in Chicago but all over the country where women of all races are winning political office. But I hope they take a firm stand on crime. You cannot raise a family surrounded by murders, assaults and robberies. And if a program doesn't work get rid of it don't hold on to it just because you created it. A safe, clean environment is the only place to raise a family and without families you have no city.
11
Kim Foxx hasnt exactly covered herself in glory. The Smollett case shows that the the more things change, the more they remain the same.
19
You have to be careful here. Although I don't know anything about these women, your headline suggests you are playing the identity politics game.
We tried that with Hillary, ie she ran on a I am not Trump, vote for me because I am a woman, my anointed time is due and men are the root cause of all evil. Any other issues were secondary and listed on her web site to be viewed but not talked about or implemented.
She helped serve up Trump on a silver platter to us.
With the exception of extreme liberal Neo feminists on the left or bigots on the right, most Americans hate identity politics.
These women should govern on a moderate progressive agenda with moderate innovative ideas, not the extreme limo liberal disaster that almost destroyed. most American cities in the 1970s.
17
Not much to smile about in this article from an understandably stoic group of activists.
With Team Rahm & Co. gone, this is the moment.
Carpe diem.
3
Whenever I watched the TV news of police violence against African Americans, I thought over what democracies would be. After World WarⅡ the US has been the model of a democratic country for Japan. But the violence against African American has not stopped in the US even more 70years after the war. Quite a few people around us in Japan are becoming dubious about the justice of American democracy. The birth of the first black female mayor in Chicago is a good opportunity for us to contemplate American democracy again.
5
@Matsuda
Are you folks in Japan aware that the vast majority of violence against African Americans is committed by African Americans?
10
@Thomas Martin
What you say is true. The real question is why?
I wonder if generations of white supremacy hasn't got something to do the condition of the blacks. Of course the failure to control Americas large corporations have left poor whites in similar condition.
2
Barbara Ransby speaks of Farrakhan and the seeming change in leadership style among black women. What is disturbing is that the ignorance and revisionist history are currently spouted by new congresswomen Omar and Tlaib. This is not progress.
18
Proud of the town where I spent my young adult years! As far as those (mainly male) cynically bringing up "identity politics" and cautioning us to "wait and see" I'd like to remind them that the people of Chicago have waited for decades for traditional (mostly male and Machine beholden) leadership to address some of these serious issues - like racially based police violence - with disappointing results. Clearly it's way past time for a new approach, and if the leaders who can do this are Black women, they have my respect and support.
21
It should be noted that Assata's Daughters is a group that is named after and honors the principles of Assata Shakur, AKA Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted of murdering a N.J. State Trooper. She was sent to prison, subsequently broken out and lives in exile in Cuba. To my knowledge, this group still views her as a heroine and does not deny her guilt. The New York Times should be more careful about the groups it lauds.
23
Chicago is 32 percent black and terminally Democrat. With no white or male Democrat running for Mayor, it was inevitable that a black woman would be elected.
Eager to politicize black women for Democrat turnout in the upcoming national elections, the NYT touts the Chicago election as some sort of progressive dream. That dream, however, could very easily turn into a nightmare for the city of Chicago and its minority residents if the new mayor governs as she campaigned.
The new mayor is the quintessential identity politician running on slogans about fairness and racial justice, as if tax-and-spend Democrats have not been running Chicago for decades. Slogans, defanging the police, anti-business regulatory policy and Robin Hoodism with respect to schools and housing will not bring jobs and growth to the parts of the city historically left behind by the broader Chicago economy. Rather they will drive a wedge between Chicagoans on different sides of the economic divide.
Years of Democrat mismanagement and self-dealing have left Chicago with some of the most entrenched urban problems of any US city. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that white Chicago is doing just fine, but nearing the limit of its tolerance for taxes and intrusive social engineering. The new mayor's social justice and engineered equality initiatives are on a collision course with white Chicago, and the result is not likely to be pretty for Chicago or Democrats generally.
14
As a lifelong (white) resident of Chicago I can tell you everyone is excited about the election, except for some die hard conservatives and neo-liberals. There is a huge rise of activism in Chicago from the grassroots. Not only black feminists, but youth, environmentalists, democratic socialists and many others. We're building a more just, equal and better Chicago. And by-the-way a whole bunch of white males ran for mayor, include Bill Daley, and they all got beat by two black women. Times are changing, and for the better.
12
It’s always interesting to see how those that preach identity politics see progress as measured by race and not outcomes. Nothing has changed in Chicago. Perhaps it will but there is scant evidence to believe that being black or a woman = being qualified. Baltimore is a case in point. It is run by now three Black women mayors and two black males prior to that with a white male thrown in the middle. The city council is majority black, the police chief black, virtually all heads of education for a generation black. The result? Nothing good. It would be better to focus on the quality of the individuals in power not their ethnicity or gender
22
What these women have been able to do is called a revolution. We saw this start with the women's marches nationally after the clown king's election and corruption.
When income inequity reaches the levels they have reached in the US and the legal system is used to hold people down revolution is the only solution.
Keep it going and throw the bums out.
4
Lack of a sufficiently leftist mayor “seemed to be an intractable problem, one among many others — like police violence, school closings, unfair wages.”
Er, not to mention the staggering murder rate.
“This is an example of black feminism — a philosophy that tackles sexism, racism, classism and other forms of oppression simultaneously rather than in silos or in a hierarchy.”
I thought the intersectionality fad peaked in 2017. Or maybe that was cultural appropriation.
“The work happening in Chicago should be seen as a model for how to build progressive movements across the country.”
I do look forward to the progressive movement’s getting Chicago’s carnage down to a mere slaughter.
8
I'm floored by the number of "pile-on" comments by people who clearly just want to bash Chicago and didn't appreciate the unique leadership identified in the article.
13
WOW talk about leaders who move mountains! All of us, all over the country, can learn from these amazing women who are pushing through, with skill, bravery, and passion, the previously intractable problems of Chicago that have been mostly ignored by the American people.
The hurt, pain, and violence the African American community have endured created hopelessness these women won't stand for anymore. Hope is rising now...
I hope the media keeps a spotlight on these amazing women.
7
I am deeply saddened that we keep going farther into the woods of "Them vs us" & that is a sad state of affairs. That said, black women did not start this scenario. This scenario was started when white men said it was their "Manifest Destiny" to rule.
From that beginning, they went on to desensitize people to the natural rights of all others; committing large scale genocide of Native American, lynchings & back door genocide of descendants of slaves & declaring all this good. The desensitizing is at the point that slaughter of white kids in grammar school is now tolerated without demands for change.
America has so desensitized the issues of injustice that black men can be murdered & it becomes "NO BIG DEAL." Much of Europe is now going into backlash; rightwing nationalists.
The only real solution is to force the dialogue to go neutral in color & be based only on facts. We must raise the literacy & conduct in all our homes along with tolerance. Only then can real justice be mutually understood & sought after.
A black American mom gets neonatal care about 55% of the time, a white mom gets it 77% of the time, an Asian mom gets it 81% of the time & we see the results in academics norms of achievements. We must do better across the board but definitely for those at the bottom. Starting out 25% behind & falling further back daily is not the way.
We all must aim to do better by & for all the people. Don't just complain, do more, do better. Black women can’t do it alone.
Peace
3
Black people and black women have endured the most cruel and abusive of human rights of any group of people in our society. Their families torn apart by slavery, they were owned, raped, tortured and killed. These people survived this cruel and demeaning culture, then survived Jim Crow, and now incarceration in a criminal system that continues to violate their human rights. I feel restitution should be included as one of the issues we face as a nation.
These people were instrumental in building this country, winning the civil war, the fist woman in the US to be a millionaire was black, and they continue to rise above cruelties and lead us forward with dignity. Thank you President Obama.
In my opinion back women are one of the most tempered groups of people in our nation. Their integrity and strength will, as indicated in the article, lead our nation forward.
Thank you for your all sacrifices and inspiration.
8
Would’ve been nice to have mentioned Ms. Lightfoot’s historic victory as a lesbian. (I believe Chicago is the largest city to have elected a gay mayor.) Not that it was a big deal during the campaign. In fact, Lightfoot and Preckwinkle’s race and gender didn’t really come up at all.
2
A so-called "activitst" is some one who works to destroy the system....and I'm sorry....but that "activist" is NOT the kind of person you want to run the system. Kim Foxx , the other role model propped up by Ms. Tillet, has recently revealed her own inability to run an actual "system", thru her personal "activism" and sabotage of the Smollet Nonsense.
Chicago.....pretty much the role model for Corrupt Political Machines....will simply have to endure yet another mayor in a long unbroken line of corruption dating from the fall of Mayor Daly. A mayor with no ability to fill the potholes and collect the garbage.....but a mayor that grandstands in public with a foolish image that doesnt match reality.
8
Baltimore city has now had three female mayors in a row. Its recent trajectory can provide a model for the future of Chicago.
9
And no mention of the Jussie Smollett fiasco. Chicago and Illinois are financial disaster areas. All the smart people are leaving for better run states and cities. Good luck to those who stay, you’re going to need it during the next big downturn, which is soon....
8
Claiming Kim Foxx as a victory? That’s a joke.
Her handling of the Jussie Smollett case was at best foolish and more likely unethical and incompetent.
Chicago deserves better.
4
I am very proud of these amazing black women. They are the best candidates to solve the intractable problems facing the black community. Women are better suited than men to solve complex social problems. Men are more concerned with their enormous egos and silly controls. We should support them and do whatever it takes to make them succeed. They are more likely to seek counsel from a broad public for problem solving and deliver on their promises. I wish them well.
3
I work in a large urban public sector organization. The staff is mostly female, mostly African-American. There are smaller cohorts of Latino and white staff, and fewer Asians. Various ages too.
The demographics have been this way for years.
As in any organization there are wonderful people, kind people, intelligent people, capable people. There are some in the middle. And some not so great. And some worse.
Where I work, there is no “one” demographic or ethnic or racial group that is getting it done.
3
This piece misses the biggest challenge that Chicago faces. The total tax burden for each citizen is $119,000. This deficit leads the country. Instead of focusing on race or gender, at least mention this glaring challenge.
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/City-Combined-Taxpayer-Burden-Report.pdf
3
No need to mention what may be an abbreviated career for Kim Foxx after her obvious fix in the Jussie Smollet fiasco.
His family has a secret communication with Foxx and suddenly multiple felonies evaporate into thin air. So much for relying on 'the content of one's character" rather than the color of the skin.
3
This is a wonderful article. It shows there is still reason for HOPE in the barbaric Age of Trump.
4
As Kim Fox illustrated in the Jussie Smollett case, corruption in one form or another is endemic to Chicago regardless of gender or race. My bet is the new mayor's administration and her Alderman allies will face indictments in 12-18 months for various acts as they try to create their own democratic machine away from the Daly/Emmanuel machine.
5
“We are disproportionately poor and disproportionately sick,” said the noted organizer Mariame Kabe, who now lives in New York. “If you unravel all the compounding ways we are discriminated against, you do that for everyone else, too. If we’re free, everybody else is free.” Amen, Sisters, and thank you for your commitment.
2
So far these black women have not gotten much done. Lightfoot is highly qualified but everyone wants to see how she will balance the budget, work with the unions, maintain benefits, and not raise taxes. Ideally she will find a way to have people living in other states pay Chicago’s bills.
3
I wish Ms. Lightfoot all the best, but she hasn't done anything except get elected. And in a country where we've had a black president, and high-level black politicians for decades now, that seems more like a matter of statistics than oppression.
I cringe at every one of these identity-politics pieces-- lionizing people because they are of a particular gender, a particular race, and they hold a grudge.
8
What will they do about the gang violence and murders?
The loss of industrial employment?
It will take more than slogans printed on sweatshirts.
7
"How the rest of the country can follow them". Thankfully the rest of the country will not follow the broken families, the terrible schools, crime and murders, economic depravity, drugs, gang activity, judicial corruption and government mismanagement/incompetence on a massive scale. On the bright side, at least there will be blessed, Utopian diversity.
9
So good to hear of these women’s good works. Black women are leaders in this country, whether or not in positions of power. We would all do better to seek their opinions and follow their lead when we can. . . I mean, what a sane and sensible demographic!
4
Be careful what you wish for, the City of Baltimore has had THREE consecutive black female mayors, starting in 2007 and ending in 20019. Two of the three were forced out of office for misconduct. During the 12 year tenure of black female mayors, Baltimore has earned the nickname of "Bulletmore, Murderland", with a crime rate that vastly exceeds the national average; there's been an exodus of citizens from the city; and the public school system is abysmal, failing the children of this urban center.
Sheila Dixon was indicted on twelve felony and misdemeanor counts, including perjury, theft, and misconduct.(2010)
Catherine Elizabeth Pugh was forced to take an indefinite leave of absence, then resign, over a "self-dealing" book-sales arrangement (2019).
13
Kim Foxx is indeed an agent of change. For the worse, in a place you thought couldn’t get any worse. What next, hail Trump as the most diplomatic President ever?
4
There's an astonishing sign of matriarchal power in the back women's struggle (and successes) to change black misfortune to black fortune in Chicago. There's also a very traditional dysfunctionality in the black community regarding the failure of many black men of not joining gangs, which are syndicates of violence (often black on black). The biggest factor is poverty and the lack of opportunity. The women, often left with raising the children without the run-away fathers, show responsibility, nurturing and a sense of giving and thus creating a greater community. These women should also impact on the men who eschew being responsible. But there need to be jobs, social programs, new, progressive ways to end the black male slide into the danger zones. The impressive strength and great nurturing commitment of the black women in Chicago needs to be applauded and supported with significant financial means and incentives to rescue the many black men who deserve to have better lives beyond poverty and being social outcasts.
2
Yep. Just like Baltimore, only larger and with similar outcomes.
5
Thanks, but this presents a distorted view the of real lives of Black women in Chicago. Yes, a handful of well-educated and economically stable Black women have done well in identity-focused academia and activism, but they have a very narrow agenda that just doesn't include most of us - or the Black men in our lives. Also, its nice to have a Black woman mayor, but don't be fooled...…..Lori's ties to Chicago's Black community are minimal...…...she lives on the North Side with her white wife. Furthermore, most of Lori's appointed committee heads will be white men.
Black women renters on the South Side are in the middle of an eviction crisis. More than 50 black women on the South and West sides have been killed under circumstances suggestive of a serial killer. Black women have the lowest marriage rates and the highest HIV infection rates in this city.
Black feminist activists tend to be elitist and socially disdainful of the poor black women they make careers out of helping. None of them have ties to the churches, sororities, or service organizations that have been quietly but diligently fighting racism and sexism for generations. They show up in town with an Ivy-League PhD, found a non-profit, get a few pats on the head from liberal whites, and declare themselves victors.
I would be more impressed with an article about the Deltas, AKAs, union organizers, church first ladies, public defenders, and public school teachers who are doing the real work.
6
This is so inspiring. The upset of the traditional Chicago machine politics. Is there a movement to curb black on black violence? Are these groups addressing gang violence? yes these are male issues, but they affect the entire community and destroy families and lives.
1
There’s one mention of sexual violence, but do they indicate how much more often black women are sexually assaulted than white women in Chicago? It’s 10 times more often, according to 2010 arrest data put out by Chicago Police. They stopped publishing that report — which would explain away all criticisms of Chicago police as one would see use of force rates match arrest rates (which match crime suspect rates).
The protests against police are a red herring. Last I checked there was only one killings by Chicago police compared to 150 murders so far in 2019. Rekia Boyd was an anomaly that launched a movement #SayHerName. Nationally the past 5 years there’s been only a handful of unarmed black women killed, and only 2% of all unarmed killings (which are also a rarity and 2/3 are not black). The worst, racist policing is at least a decade ago.
If real data and facts were presented, we wouldn’t have a paranoid nation addressing the wrong problems. Namely the hyper focus on police violence and hate violence when it’s everyday violence that most affects my fellow Chicagoans.
I communicate often wirh black Chicagoans, and while they share some of the concerns with the women here, most are just trying to get by and worry for their personal safety NOT by cops or white supremacy, but by their neighbors.
4
I hope these women will use their talents in an area unmentioned in this article - blacks killing other blacks in the context of gang violence. These killings far exceed police misdeeds. And in that context, how is abolishing prisons going to lessen the slaughter of black men by other black men?
4
You're kidding, right ? Kim Foxx has been an absolute disaster as State's Attorney, with the Smollett debacle just the tip of the iceberg. Toni Preckwinkle is a Machine hack of the worst sort.
And Chicago keeps losing its black citizens, tired of the endless corruption and taxes.
6
"said the noted organizer Mariame Kaba, who now lives in New York. “If you unravel all the compounding ways we are discriminated against, you do that for everyone else, too. If we’re free, everybody else is free.”
I wish this was true, but over and over again we've learned that regardless of colour, gender, sexual orientation etc. the temptations of power lead to depriving others of freedom. Everyone seems to live with the dream that when they are in power they will do it differently--they never do.
As we face a world dominated by climate change and the extinction of all life around us, the best policy is for leaders to focus on the "universal sacred"—the idea that Others are to be held in the highest regard. Once a black lesbian achieves power, her Others are all those who are NOT black or female, or lesbian. This, and only this, is the true politics of freedom.
Black women have always shouldered the responsibility in their families and communities. They already are the leaders. This is despite the challenge of existing while black in our racist country. They have already persisted! They deserve all the support we can give them.
3
Getting things done? That remains to be seen. So far the only thing they did was to get themselves elected. This represents a refreshing change but can they sort out the numerous problems the city faces? In particular can they put the corrupt politicians getting rich off the city’s property tax scam behind bars:
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/meet-the-politicians-getting-rich-off-chicagos-property-tax-scheme/
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2017/11/11/how-cook-countys-democratic-machine-works
Foxx in particular doesn’t give much confidence by refusing to prosecute a clearly guilty crook like Jussie Smollett for ridiculous reasons.
3
Thank you sisters
Well done
They didn’t do anything for Baltimore.
6
These women are what makes Chicago awesome! And all of the horrible states surrounding us, banning abortion left and right, are going to be sorry when we take all of the women and girls under our arms who they’ve abandoned and tell them that Chicago has their backs.
2
Yet, “When I think of Chicago’s problems, the first things that comes to mind are the recent murders of black women and girls,” Ms. Nolen said to me.
Men are 8x more likely to be murdered in chicago then women.
6
You praise the accomplishments of black feminists in Chicago in their fight against racism and oppression and cite as an example the fact that in May 2015, Chicago became the first city in the country to award reparations to people who survived police torture during the 1970s and ‘80s. What you conveniently fail to mention is that in 2015 there were 762 murders in Chicago, its highest total in more than two decades. With “successes” like that I think I’ll pass on Chicago-style black feminism.
7
Here's hoping they do as well at they have in Baltimore!
4
Honestly, I look forward to a time when the New York Times is no longer running articles about what "black women" or any other slice of America are doing and simply highlighting what Americans are doing - regardless of gender or race or sexuality.
6
well, I am glad to hear about them.
Please follow up on the situation in Chicago when the black on black violence drops from today's horrific levels.
thanks
2
We'll say things are 'getting done' in Chicago when the murder rate recedes to something less than an alarming level, when black youth have a reaonable chance to get decent work, and when the CTA is fully funded to provide reasonable service throughout the city.
2
I am surprised by the negative comments in response to this article.
This article is highlighting these women and the hard work being done by these women to address serious problems in Chicago.
Why is there such a negative reaction to this?
And by the way, it is something to be applauded when the unprecedented happens - when under-represented minorities get to lead, especially in the mayor’s office - so no, I don’t need to wait 5 years for Mayor Lightfoot to solve all of Chicago’s problems before celebrating her or any of these women.
51
@Traveler
Negative comments result because focus should be on the source of black "issues", which is sky high unwed mothers and 56% fatherless black males.
6
All politicians are human and subject to the same laws of nature as the rest of us. How many under represented politicians have become just like the flawed they replaced. Then what?
1
@Traveler I've lived in Chicago 28 years and voted for Ms. Lightfoot. Perhaps some of the negative reaction stems from the disbelief the Machine will let her succeed.
Chicagoans voted for change, but that's not what the Machine wants. As an example, we finally voted out the corrupt Cook County Assessor who has rigged the property tax system to penalize minority communities and favor tax appeal attorneys.
So a bill was introduced in the Illinois House to outlaw a free and fair election for Cook County Assessor, and instead mandate that the assessor be appointed by the (Machine) Cook County Board President. The person introducing the bill is...you guessed it...a property tax appeal attorney.
So while many of us in Chicago have great faith in Ms. Lightfoot and hope for the best, given the formidable Machine power we fear the worst.
3
It's stories and photography such as this that give me hope for the future. These are powerful stories. Thank you.
48
Great article and great photography. Such character in these women’s faces. So glad I live in Chicago.
59
@Lisa Leadership involves more than posturing
7
This is the paradigm shift we need in this city and our country. By the people, for the people, of the people. We need to unite as a country again. We united after WWII and we made progress. We need to do it again to fight the corruption and disenfranchisement that has gone on for too long. Since we cannot do it on a national level, then let's do on a local level. It is happening in my state too. These issues that these women bring to the table need to be addressed and solutions need to be found. Let's move our country forward and include all the people this time.
3
I believe that this article is very uplifting and I wish many of the women in the article
continued success.However mentioning Ms Foxx’s prosecution of R Kelly but ignoring the Jussie Smollet
case is unfair.
7
@Able What does Jussie Smollett have to do with black female activism in Chicago?
3
I don't know if any large, complex city like Chicago with its infamous political past can be led from its self-created wilderness.
Virtually no one, black or white, male or female, has performed admirably in all important areas. Old Man Daley's administrations may been efficient, but it was dictatorial with many other shortcomings. One glaring one was, in my opinion, that it was too right-wing and intolerant of opposing opinion.
Never giving up, though, black women Chicagoans are stepping up. Good for them. I wish them mightily well. Godspeed.
Will they succeed in significantly improving Chicago? Maybe a little: Human nature is just too stubborn, rancorous, biased, lazy, and selfish for massive cooperation. We're just not built that way. Nonetheless, all one can do is try, if you're not affected by the virus.
Footnote: Am disappointed at the many commenters here who are already gleefully predicting failure. Such attitudes tend to produce self-fulfilling prophecies: "See, I told you it wouldn't work." It's always safest to be cynical and pessimistic. Less energy required, you know: It frees you from joining the effort to change. I often use that strategy myself at work, home, and in the community. Nothing like the pleasure of being right. It greatly simplifies life, and I just don't have the energy to do what it takes. As humiliating as it is, I'm in the category of the Sunshine Patriot.
5
Very much needed; that is, positive contributions from this niche of the population. I would say it's one of the healthier things about democracy I've read in a bit. Good luck! Women of all descriptions, of all persuasions are needed in a liberal democracy. Yes, it is a pragmatic, hard-fact based results orientated system but it's also a spiritual and mind game that requires involvement at many levels, many people.
18
Chicago has often suffered from corruption in government. From this article, it still does. It remains to be seen how people who have lived amongst an electorate who considers injustice and inequity standard operating procedure will be able to resist overcompensating to remedy old injustices just to produce new ones. People who have been egregiously mistreated have two rather general reactions, scrupulous fairness ir righteous reciprocity.
8
Apparently the voters share the priorities of those candidates whose concerns are rather narrowly defined. It’s the votes’ decision to make.
Chicago used to be a city at the crossroads of commercial, I would have thought that mayors would have to serve broader concerns than any of the people in this article seem to. But I guess that the loss of industry has also driven commercial interests elsewhere.
5
@Casual Observer. I don’t think so. We have been getting gentrified.
1
59 corporation have moved their headuarter to Chicago in recent years - more than any other City
1
Then, machine politics continue to dominate and are selecting this group as their flavor of the year.
I sure hope this is true. For generations Chicago has suffered under the plague of machine politics and its blatant and rampant corruption.
Most residents of the city acknowledge the fact that life and government are never fair in this city.
When the people of a city, state or nation live with injustice on a daily basis it kills the soul. Chicago could be a great place to live and work, but the facts are therwise.
Let's hope Mayor Lori can clean up the mess. Let's do better than that and pray for it. Or better yet, expose the mess again and again and bring fresh air to the city.
11
As soon as I saw the article, I knew there would be a number of comments complaining about all of the problems that Chicago and Illinois have: crime, budget issues, low-performing schools, most from other states that have their own problems, which I could easily enumerate. Isn't it possible to celebrate the strides these women are making without pointing out the need for improvement? By the way, Illinois is one of the few "giver" states. Without the outflow of cash that goes to mostly red states, we'd easily be able to balance our budget.
35
@josie -- I've always loved the spirit of Chicago, especially in the winter, when determined people hustle out into the blowing snow, sometimes just to see traffic conditions. But when I graduated from college in the 80's and my friends were all moving from Des Moines to Chicago, I could not make the move because of the schools. At that time, there were actually non-existent school buildings in some districts. Friends warned me that if I did not have money for private schools, I should not attempt the move with my kids.
4
@josie Black people throughout the USA have been the beneficiaries of LBJ's Great Society entitlements. These programs initiated in 1965 have cost the taxpayers over a trillion dollars, far greater than any other expenditure in that timeframe. What do we have to show for this lavish expenditure, here in Chicago or elsewhere?
4
Why would this be surprising? I work in corporate America and black women, indeed women of all colors, are getting things done there as normal. Chicago is regarded by most fair-minded people as a shocking example of failure. Various demographics play roles in that terrible situation. As do all layers of government.
22
Thank you for making more people aware of the great work of the women and organizations highlighted in this article. I've been searching for organizations to contribute to in addition to ones in my own state and haven't been too successful.
For another positive story, check out the Washington Post's story on the Nevada legislature!
11
It’s so interesting and instructive that effective government is no where in the article. It’s all about the election result, not the policy result.
As a once ballyhooed progressive mayoral candidate learned the hard way in NYC, governing ain’t easy.
The hard working people of Chicago (and New York) deserve results, not senseless braying about election wins that check progressive politics identity boxes.
Call me when murders are down, education is working, and garbage collection doesn’t cost 2x everywhere else in the country.
99
Did you really read this? There are hard won changes recounted here, and the election results are a symptom of the victories. The issues have festered for decades. Changes do not happen in the length of a Hollywood movie.
4
@Veritas
That’s because this has never been about the failings of white men. It is about the exercise of power.
Welcome to the new boss, same as the old one.
2
A quick google/Wikipedia search shows that in the 6 years prior to 2016, 92 people were killed and 170 wounded in police shootings. In the same period, some 4,500 people were killed, and while the number wounded isn’t readily available, historical data would indicate that the number is 3-4 times greater. So far in 2019, 124 people have been shot of whom 25 died. One person has been shot by a police officer this year.
Of course, the only logical conclusion from these data is that police violence is an intractable problem in Chicago. So happy to see that the leaders profiled in this article have identified the biggest problem in Chicago.
52
I don't follow the logic. One police shooting seems an improvement, and some police shootings are justified and necessary to save civilian lives.
Exactly All these women focus on the problem with cops and not on problem that kills most people,Mayor Lightfoot sounds like a real deal but Fox is a joke
2
@mike geenwald
Mike, the comment is tongue in cheek.
Maybe the Times could do the curious a favor and compare, in detail, the policing methods in Chicago and New York and provide a data based analysis as to why Chicago PD has performed so poorly. No problem with the SJW type article but let's see some hard reporting about the actual, demonstrable details of the problem.
1
Maybe at long last ALL PEOPLE of Chicago will get what they want and what they deserve. Rahm Emanuel's exit was a fabulous first step. After their amazing victories, I am so excited to see what Ms. Light Lightfoot and Kim Foxx will accomplish next.
7
The article does not mention any concerns except the ones that the people featured saw as being ignored. Why would you presume that people so focused ever gave any thought to all those concerns unrelated to those upon which they have devoted their attentions? Activists usually cannot expand their attention far from the issues to which they have been focused.
7
@Casual Observer --- I grew up in Des Moines and spent a lot of time in Chicago, so I followed closely the situation that involved Rahm running against a true progressive, and saw how city hall and the police department suppressed information to help him with his re-election. It was not nice to see. Chicago deserves better. I have always felt like Rahm was a fixer for the Clintons for many years, and Chicago was his reward... much to the people's loss.
10
Continuation of Chicago politics since it was founded. I doubt it will change.
Progressives used to to be people who wanted progress. Today they are people who have no vision about progress, they are what used to be called leftists longing for revolution, vaguely.
It’s not just in big cities such as Chicago that Black women are politically active. When I (a white woman) lived for over a quarter-century in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, I found that many, many Black women were well-informed about political matters, and quite active in working towards progressive goals. As one of them explained it, they were more motivated than a lot of other citizens, as they had more to win and more to lose at election time.
21
@Liz C, Stacey Abrams' race for Governor brought well-deserved attention to black activists in Atlanta, but if you know someone who would be interested in writing an article about activism in Savannah, I for one would be very interested in reading it.
8
If in 2024, 5 years from now, the crime rate is halved, the deficit no larger, and taxes not any higher, then call me. Until then hold the accolades
114
@AL, that would be wonderful. But running an organization that supports women who survive sexual assault also seems deserving in accolades.
22
BTW a Giuliani did exactly that.
1
@AL Sure, after he stopped and frisked any person of color on the streets. We have a fourth amendment for a reason.....but, apparently, that does not stand for people of color.
3
Very exciting to hear about the work these women are leading. In a time when it seems like there is little an individual can do to change thing, these stories bring me hope.
15
Thank you for spotlighting these intelligent leaders. We look forward to having them continue to create strategies and policies at the local level that can be replicated by other cities. We also look forward to seeing leaders who create positive results at the city and state level rise to national positions of leadership.
11
“We are disproportionately poor and disproportionately sick,” said the noted organizer Mariame Kabe, who now lives in New York. “If you unravel all the compounding ways we are discriminated against, you do that for everyone else, too. If we’re free, everybody else is free.” Amen, Sisters, and thank you for your commitment.
37
@Laurence Hauben They disproportionately make bad choices. This "If we’re free, everybody else is free" is another way to hold everyone hostage and make everything center on black grievances.
1
It would be a positive step, if we all could just elect someone to be mayor...if that someone then behaved like a "mayor" and not some caricature of some narrowly defined superficial subgroup of humans....for example.....black single mother from the ghetto.
And therein lies the problem. We have a whole herd of people running for various offices, each one attempting to represent some narrowly constructed special interest group. NObody campaigns on a single serious economic or political issue.....The main theme is "you people are guilty of oppressing people that look like me....the only way to wash away your sins .... is to elect me."
I will be the first descendent of first time college orphan hungarian speaking vikings from Peru ... pause for breath....to become Mayor of Chicago.
Dick Gregory," I look forward to the time when I am no longer called a black american...but simply an american".
17
I love what the black woman are doing in Chicago. Just make positive change in the community. Scholars and community activists working together. They are going politically active from the Mayor Prosecutors to city council. It’s funny to talk about black women in Chicago and not mention Michelle Obama. It’s great and Michelle can continue to do her thing. I wish they start networking with black women in the suburbs rural areas and the cities. The world needs your leadership black women. Good change are coming. Elect a President again( they elected Barack Obama)
11
Kim Foxx is under investigation for interfering in the Jussie Smollett case. She's no different than the man she defeated. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
129
From what I've seen so far, Foxx is a top-notch prosecutor. Her handling of the Smollett case, outward appearances notwithstanding,
was measured and based on precedent, as she explained in a lengthy interview I happened to hear on NPR. Perhaps things are not staying the same. Perhaps she deserves a fair chance.
This is not to say the entire Smollett incident hasn't been a complete fiasco.
12
@day owl
Top notch? She recused herself after an unprofessional exchange, then said it was a "colloquial use" of the term recusal when she remained active in the handling of the case.
Then when she was criticized for her handling of the case, she blamed it on racism...as an invited speaker at a Rainbow/Push event, the organization where Smollett did his "community service."
Her mishandling of the case threatens to undo the state's charges against R. Kelly. I'm all for her office giving greater weight to violent crimes over non-violent ones, but her tenure has been a disaster.
53
What is a central part of the success of these black women is the networking and mutual support, the incredible sense of community! It's black women nurturing peu a peu progress. There is of course the question about black men and their contributions. They seem to be in a their own way "invisible."
Considering the huge problems in Chicago, where the loop is the artery of capitalist glitzertown, much, much needs to be done to undo/change entrenched power structures. But this movement, these many firsts will, incrementally, give more power to the people! Power and wealth are unfairly divided along racial divisions. Hail to those who bring back hope! and change!
9
While i was happy to see that Chicago elected a Mayor from outside of the political arena, suggesting a high probability she is not corrupt, I don't think the new Mayor's race, gender or sexual preference stands per se as any marker of pride.
Chicago has already had quite a few successful career politicians who happen to be women, black, gay — all of them corrupt functioning gears in the machine like Toni Prickwinkle who was defeated by Mayor Lightfoot.
That defeat was the real victory and the real source of pride — an outsider who challenged the machine won! That gives me hope.
I lived in Chicago (Westside, Southside, Northside) for many years, though it was long ago. I remember the dignity that Harold Washington brought to the Mayor's office after the craven arrogance of the Byrne years (the looted the office furniture on their way out).
Yet this article sadly reminds me that violent neighborhoods, the Police, police violence, and hatred of all of the above is what many black Chicagoans think is normal. I have no apologies for the monsters in the police force — but at some point the black community in Chicago has to recognize that they pass their own exceptional problems on to their children in a generational fashion — it's not just institutional in nature. Where's the love Chicago? A recent glance in the Tribune reads like it was printed thirty years ago, filled with shootings. Let's hope the New Mayor proves honest and hardworking.
17
IT SEEMS EVERYONE FORGETS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE POLICE PROTECT AND AID ALL OF US.
YES, THERE ARE BAD APPLES, AND THEY DESERVE CONDEMNATION AND PUNISHMENT, BUT DON'T USE A BROAD BRUSH AND DESTROY THE MORALE OF THE REST. WE NEED THEM, WE NEED THEIR PROTECTION, AND I SALUTE THE MAJORITY OF THEM!
8
Wishing the political women of Chicago much good luck in their effort to turn Chicago around. A little disconcerting that not a single mention of the rampant gang violence that plagues the city. But change has to start with step one.
7
She looks likes she's hailing a cab. But seriously, as long as there is no sense of solidarity with women of all colors, women's progress will either get nowhere, or progress without -- in spite of -- women of color, who refuse to embrace promoting their gender without the factor of race predominating. Look at what happened in the fracturing of the Women's March. Look at any efforts to recognize women's contribution to our nation's history or to the women's movement itself: it is set back at every turn unless black women are at the forefront. It cannot be a woman on the $20 bill unless it is Sojourner Truth. It cannot be a statue of a women in NYC unless she is "of color." We were pushed aside for Barack Obama, and the stepping aside continues, thanks to our black "sisters" who care not at all for commonalities of gender. Is it any wonder that the majority of white women voted for Trump?
42
@PL I am a white woman, and happy that my Black sisters are claiming their due, and finally getting some recognition. And no, I really do not understand why so many white women voted for Trump, except that Hilary and the DNC ran a lousy campaign.
3
@PL On point.
2
@PL Very true. I live in a city that is 70% white. Asians are the largest minority (13%) and blacks are 4%. When the city has projects for "people of color" it almost entirely revolves are black people. While blacks get a free pass a criticizing other minorities, any criticism of blacks will get you labeled a white supremist.
Notice that when black activists get power they relegate the concerns of other minorities to 3rd class status and will not cede the platform to anyone critical of blacks. Looking at how black activists treat others has made it obvious to me that when the tables are turned they are as power hungry, insensitive, self serving and unethical as any white male Republican. The local NAACP recently held a talk entitled "Weaponizing Accusations of Anti-Semitism" claiming that it is anti-black racism designed to hurt "powerful black women" behind the criticism of Ilhan Omar,
Alice Walker, Angela Davis. Strange, I've seen powerful
Jewish people like Rosanne Barr, Donald Sterling, Dominique Strauss Kahn have their careers and reputations destroyed due to accusations of slights towards blacks.I don't remember the NAACP caring when powerful Jews, and non-Jews, fell from grace
due to offending blacks. They seemed to celebrate it.
4
Apparently, "getting things done" for these activists means blocking traffic and emptying prisons. It would seem a lot more constructive to focus on fixing the awful school system.
104
@Amy seriously what do you know about the school system in Chicago? I get so tired of people who don’t live here acting like they know everything. Is there room for improvement? Yes there is. But we had a stellar experience with CPS which resulted in my son receiving a full tuition ride at a Big 10 school. This is not an isolated case either. There are lots of wonderful schools, dedicated teachers, and grateful families.
Thanks for your opinion from 800 miles away, though.
25
@ARD Why take such offence? You yourself say there is a problem! You should be grateful that people are reading this and some actually have an opinion.
Just get out there and fix the education problem.
Wish someone would fix South Africa's abysmal excuse for an education department... perhaps then we too could then thrive.
Have a good day further...
1
@ARD: Ignore Amy. President Obama, Mayor Lightfoot, and Oprah are products of Chicago. New York gave us Trump, Giuliani, and Sean Hannity. Pretty obvious where New Yorkers are coming from and why they feel the need to trash Chicago.
4
Will read article later but liked to see the women's faces. I was born in 1933 in Chicago on the south side and moved from there in 1984 due to the long winters and no family any more in Chicago. I am always happy to say where I was born; I miss the Art Institute and many other things in Chicago but happy now in San Diego. Very glad Chicago will have a woman major. Loved going to the Berghoff Restaurant and the Blackhawk restaurant too. Great memories. And went to the Chicago Symphony many times. A terrific city.
18
An outstanding piece highlighting the important work of amazing people who are too often silenced or overlooked. I especially loved the photos as it is so critical for readers to know when they look at Black women, they are seeing brilliant, courageous, beautiful humans.
40
Some of the activists in this piece directly opposed Lightfoot and started the #stoplightfoot campaign. I wouldn’t overestimate their influence, as they lost.
30
Congratulations to Ms. Lightfoot. History has shown that elections can be won by “change agents”. That’s the hard part.
The harder part is getting tangible and meaningful improvements implemented.
Implementation has been the constant issue. Make sure the mundane services are well executed while make the transformative change that is demanded. Get things done. Ms. Lightfoot has to transition from activist to executive. Her supporters have to hold her accountable while giving her the room necessary to do her job.
5
This was a very perceptive piece! The author has a unique and forward thinking spin on people who have effective ideas! Thank you, Salamishah!
37
To put this in perspective, all our neighbors, MO, IN, WI, are in reverse mode. Cracking down on minorities, making women;s body issue a subject of male decision and hence restrictive.
Chicago, across all wards, voted for a black, gay, married, never been a politician to hold office, woman; as it's mayor
74
@Gyns D
Add Neighboring state Iowa with Congressman Steve King. Iowa seems to get a pass sometimes as being progressive. It's not.
35
@Gyns D
Except Illinois has the worst finances of any state in America, going broke over pensions and other mismanagement, rather an embarrassment. Not exactly a model of good government.
25
@Gyns D Given the reputation of Chicago's DNC Political Machine...I doubt anyone in Chicago actually voted.....the DNC simply stuffed the ballot box.
2
Thank you for this wonderful article that highlights a number of young African American female activists. Black women - stand at the forefront of combating racism and sexism in this country.
112
@Ann
It is great news.....does anyone join me in thinking that Michelle Obama's efforts may have been some small part of the energy that supports this change?
1