To the Editor
Extend the Red Line
Founded in 1905
into community
Michael House
Robert S. Abbott (Founder) 1905-1940
President
John H. Sengstacke (Publisher) 1940-1983
Dear Editor:
Frederick D. Sengstacke (Publisher) 1983 - 2000 Lou Ransom
Col. (Ret.) Eugene F. Scott (Publisher) 2000-2003 Executive Editor
I am writing this letter in support of the
David M. Milliner (Publisher) 2003 - 2004
Greater Roseland Red Line Extension
Community Project. This initiative, led
Editorial
by the Developing Communities Project,
Inc., is an example of the power and
potential of grassroots organizing for the
Bring Jahmeshia’s killer to justice
benefit of the underserved citizens of
Chicago. This project will extend CTA
Red Line from 95th to 130th Street, on
the far south side of the city. It will con-
It is racial profiling carried to its most disgust- Rush has offered a $10,000 reward for infor- the media, which is normal in those cases. Weis
nect 72,000 people to Chicago’s rail
ing extreme. mation leading to a conviction in the case. had no explanation for why that did not happen,
transportation system. This route will
Jahmeshia Conner, a 12-year-old South Side Donations to help the family and to help with even though it left the family to inform people
enable 22,800 workers to get to their jobs
girl, was reported missing on Nov. 16. While fund the reward can be sent to: the Jahmeshia that their loved one was missing. Weis defends
via affordable, accessible, and efficient
police say they took the missing person report Conner Fund, c/o Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan, 35 his officers and says they did indeed work aggres-
transportation. Currently these commu-
seriously, they now quote statistics that say most E. Wacker, Suite 500, Chicago 60601. sively on the case.
nities are cut off from the benefits of
of the Black youth who are reported missing turn Rush wants to know why the missing person Make no mistake, these are mean streets. A 12-
Chicago’s rail system. This project seeks
out to be runaways. report wasn’t taken seriously right away. He year-old on these streets is not safe, no matter
to correct that historical wrong.
They say it does not mean they do not look, but wants to know if there is a disparity in how the how confident they are. There are predators out
As an urban historian, I am struck by
looking for runaways is a whole different exer- police treat Black missing children, and if there there who wait for a slip-up, who operate in the
how often inner-city communities have
cise. Jahmeshia was listed as a runaway with the was more the police could have done to find shadows and do shadowy things.
been the victims of urban planning. This
National Center for Missing & Exploited Jahmeshia and save her. But Jahmeshia Conner is a victim. She was the
includes past massive transportation
Children. So do we. victim of those streets, and also a victim of a soci-
projects such as the construction of high-
Turns out that Jahmeshia was not a runaway. We want to know that children like Jahmeshia ety that harbors and protects those people who
way systems that have carved up black
Her brutalized body was found in a South Side aren’t profiled as runaways right off, while police would commit those kinds of transgressions.
neighborhoods, devastated black busi-
alley two weeks later. Police think she was alive put their energy into finding other missing chil- Someone dumped Jahmeshia’s lifeless body in
ness and cultural districts, and displaced
until just a couple days before her body was dren. that alley, and someone knows who did it. They
countless black families. The city of
found. The police department is saying the right need not worry about some misguided notion of
Chicago, with the support of the State
Now, of course, the police are in full rump-cov- things. Supt. Jody Weis has announced a review not “snitching” to the police.
and Federal government, now has the
ering mode, and thankfully, community leaders, of the missing person “priority” rule that sets the They need to bring the perpetrator to justice,
opportunity to use a transportation proj-
led by Cong. Bobby Rush, D-1st, are keeping the priority for missing children under the age of 10. because someone else’s 12-year-old, even theirs,
ect to provide a much needed economic
heat on. The police did not issue a missing person alert to might be next.
stimulus to neighborhoods that have for
too long been neglected.
DEFENDER PLATFORM
Stephanie Seawell
SINCE 1905_
Urbana, Ill.
1. Prejudice and racism in all of its forms
must be eliminated and destroyed.
2. Racial profiling and police brutality must
be removed from police practices.
3. Reparations, or remediation, must be the
final chapter in the arduous ordeal of slavery
and legal segregation.
4. Opportunities for inclusion and advance-
Visit
ment in all unions must be unrestricted.
5. Full access to government contracts for
all.
6. Representation in all police and fire www.
departments must reflect the community
they serve.
7. Increase access and availability for quali-
ty, affordable housing for all.
Chicago
8. Establish a living and fair wage as a fun-
damental right for all Americans.
(Revised January 1966, May 2001)
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10
Chicago Defender •
ChicagoDefender.com • December 9-15, 2009
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