AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/category/opinion/)
A 22-year-old man was shot to death near state Rep. La Shawn Ford’s family home last weekend. Nearly 30 people have been killed in Austin so far this year. Ford urges city leaders to take more aggressive steps to protect West Side residents and “end this violence now.”
Since the dawn of the civil war, blacks have psychologically struggled with identity, and they do not have a unified opinion of their experiences in America, writes columnist John W. Fountain III.
Longtime resident Dwayne Truss hopes CPS CEO Janice Jackson will ensure West Side students get the same opportunities for IB, STEM and other programs more commonly found in other parts of the city.
Brandon Johnson will begin representing the 1st District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners Dec. 3.
Columnist John W. Fountain III urges long-time elected officials to step aside and allow the next generation of leaders to tackle the hard work of improving life on the West Side.
Columnist John W. Fountain III longs for the time when barbershops were the mecca of black men conversation. “This was the only place where we could have real talk.”
Columnist John W. Fountain III urges us not to forget about Kalief Browder, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The conviction on Friday of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the shooting death of teen Laquan McDonald is no cause for celebration, Fountain writes.
Columnist John W. Fountain III predicts the next mayor of Chicago will not be African American, though there are several black candidates seeking to replace Rahm Emanuel.
State Rep. La Shawn urges West Side residents to take steps to keep their children safe from abduction more than 10 years after teenager Yasmin Acree disappeared.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford says the city of Chicago has to work with the Trump administration. The Austin lawmaker appeared on Fox and Friends last week to discuss why he thinks Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other Democrats should put politics aside and collaborate with the Republican president.
After the recent high-profile suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, state Rep. La Shawn Ford urges each of us to watch for signs of suicide in others and ourselves, and then get help.
