Rhymefest gives back

A few weeks ago, Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist Rhymefest was in Hawaii working on Kanye West's new album. Last night, he was at Cabrini Connections speaking to youth about his life, the music industry, fear vs. love, and more. The above video includes:

0:13 Speaks about radio
1:48 Performs "The City is Fallen"
3:47 Students read their freewrite poems
4:56 Interview

Rhymefest spoke for almost an hour and a half, capturing the attention of about 25 students and their mentors. At one point, he said fellow hip hop artist Rick Ross recently asked him, "Would you rather be loved or would you rather be feared?" Rhymefest solicited responses from the students before providing his own. Using the example of Martin Luther King, Jr., he said, "True love sometimes inspires the greatest fear." He went on to discuss radio and say, "Music is constantly telling us not to love ourselves."

Rapper Rhymefest to visit Cabrini Connections

I am pleased to announce that one of my favorite hip hop artists, Che "Rhymefest" Smith, a native of Chicago's south side, will visit next week's Wednesday night tutoring session. And he's not just coming to speak for a few minutes; he will run a full, classroom-style workshop! He will facilitate a language arts activity, a freewriting exercise, and a discussion about goals and dreams, and he will top it all off with a freestyle! I can't wait!

All of our students are big fans of hip hop, and this activity should be a good way to capture their attention in entertaining fashion, but, also, to make them think about life choices and their futures. I admire Rhymefest's willingness to participate in community forums with youth. He is a great example of an industry figure - in this case, music - using his or her talents to support and promote quality tutoring and mentoring programs. If figures from every major industry can think of ways to match their financial and social capital with programs like Cabrini Connections, future generations (the young people we serve now) will all be better off.

Video & Filmmakers Club and I will film the event, so look forward to a full recap next week.

The Black Star Project presents Men II Boys

Last Friday, Cabrini Connections was invited by The Black Star Project to attend a mentoring fair to follow a screening of Men II Boys, a powerful documentary about Black Male identity that I was fortunate to see about a month prior. I set up in the basement of Saint Sabina Church as the film played in the main sanctuary. There were about 40 other programs present - youth organizations, mentoring programs, state agencies, etc. - a lot of whom I was able to meet before the fair started. I told them about the Tutor/Mentor Connection: the resources on our site, the program locator, and our upcoming conference in May. I hope they connect with us in the near future.

Once the film was over, hundreds of people poured down into the basement. It was a joy to see a mass of adults genuinely interested in helping young people. I had so many great conversations with community members who are looking to get involved as volunteers. Hopefully they commit to help a tutor/mentor program in their area.

This is not what you see on the news. This is not violence. This is love and hope and connections. I have faith that we can make a difference, but it depends on you. Please consider getting involved directly as a volunteer or donor or indirectly by pointing others to our web links. Thank you!

Chicago versus Wal-Mart

A heated debate is going on in Chicago right now about whether to allow a second Wal-Mart store to be built within city limits. The proposed super-center would be located at 83rd and Stewart in the Chatham neighborhood on the south side. Supporters of its construction are chiefly concerned with jobs, 500 of which the new store would provide. They also advocate for fresh food given that Wal-Mart would offer groceries in an area relatively deplete of such sustenance.

Opponents of Wal-Mart are critical of its refusal to allow union protection. Lack of such protection makes those 500 new jobs somewhat less attractive. Their existence could also threaten the integrity of thousands of unionized jobs in the city. National criticism regarding low wages, poor working conditions, and inadequate health care is also cited in opposition.

Recent developments include:

• June 30: A city rules committee deferred a vote on an amendment to the Chatham Market shopping center development agreement that would repeal a clause aimed at keeping out Wal-Mart.
• July 25: Wal-Mart holds a farmers market at the vacant site where it wants to build its second Chicago store.
• July 28: According to a poll financed by Wal-Mart, nearly 75% of Chicago residents support their plan to open a store in Chatham.
• July 29: About 250 people came out for a rally in the Thompson Center Plaza in support of the new Wal-Mart.
• July 29: City Council transfers the issue from the Rules Committee to the Finance Commitee, all but delaying a vote until after the International Olympic Committee decides on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

My interest in this debate was sparked by reading an excellent blog post titled, "Walmart: maybe it's better than nothing?" In it, Megan Cottrell admits, "Yes, Walmart has union problems, environmental problems, wage problems, health care problems. But they are also the only company willing to come into a tough community, bringing jobs and fresh food with them." It is a tough but simple realization. In a neighborhood where the unemployment rate is 20% (Chicago's is 11.3%), people simply need jobs.

"We can't wait for the Olympics," said Alderman Howard Brookins at the July 29 City Council meeting. "People are dying now. People are starving now. People are in stores now. There is no convenient time. There's never gonna be a perfect time. If we cannot stand up for the people in the worst economic downturn since the Depression, when can we stand up for people?"

Ald. Howard Brookins makes a convincing argument, as does Chicago-based hip hop artist Rhymefest. In an interview with Chicago Public Radio, he provides a good summary of the debate and an explanation for why he supports a Wal-Mart in Chatham. Rhymefest speaks on behalf of Jobs or Else, a group responsible for pro-Wal-Mart demonstrations around Chicago.

Cottrell also mentions Food Deserts in her blog post, a concept that I was first introduced to last fall. Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group defines Food Deserts as large geographic areas with no or distant mainstream grocery stores. Mari came to speak for Northwestern Community Development Corps in November of 2008 as part of their Undergraduate Lecture Series on Race, Poverty, & Inequality. Her firm's 2006 study, Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, identified over 600,000 Chicagoans who live in a Food Desert.

In June her firm released the Chicago Food Desert Progress Report which concludes that between 2006 and 2009 the size of the Chicago food desert was reduced by 1.4 square miles. "The report provides very interesting examples of the block-by-block impact of stores moving in and out of the city," says Peter Tatian of the Urban Institute. "In Chatham, a food oasis, 2 grocers moved out, resulting in worse food access scores for 142 nearby blocks and roughly 16,000 people and an expansion of the food desert into Chatham." Chatham?! Maybe they do need a Wal-Mart after all.

Looking at the progress report, I notice a handful of maps that show Chicago's food deserts. And, of course, when I see maps, I think Mapping For Justice. At Tutor/Mentor Connection, Mike Trakan creates maps that look at the relationship among poverty, community resources, school performance, and locations of non-school tutoring/mentoring facilities for K-12 students. I went to our program locator to look up assets in 60620, the zip code of the proposed Wal-Mart site. There are seven tutor/mentor programs in the area. It would be great if we could map food sources among the current options. Mike says we should be getting some data soon. I wrote Mari about a possible collaboration, too.

As you can see, this story represents a convergence of a lot of ideas. From jobs, to Olympics, to hip hop, to food deserts, to maps, to tutor/mentor programs... my mind keeps firing. I've done my best to summarize the experience, but I do apologize if my run through has seemed scattered. Nevertheless, I hope it gives you the opportunity to learn more about this debate and think critically about its possible outcomes.

For more information, check out Walmart’s Chicago Community Action Network and Our Community. Our Choice.