Critical Mass

Have you ever tried to fix a busted pipe without turning off the water and replacing the pipe? It’s impossible. We are literally in a busted pipe in Chicago, and they keep bringing more duct tape while increasing the pressure. There is a reason for this pressure, and it is fueled by racism, greed, power, and control. 

Chicago is a unique city because of its demographic makeup. Unlike the rest of the country, Chicago’s population is almost split into thirds with Whites, Blacks, and Latinos around 30% each. Yet, the income disparity is wide, and the city is very segregated. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), White households average almost $80,000 per year, compared to Latinos at $53,000 and Blacks at $37,000. The segregation and income disparity has made it easy to create urban blight.  A term pioneered by the Chicago School of Sociology in the 1930’s Progressive Era where urban poverty was a focus area of research.

Blighted communities have been legislated by elected officials and the blaring neglect is debilitating. These conditions have led to the anger, frustration, and hopelessness that have consumed many from the community.  This neglect has been blatant for over a century, and neglect has become a business in itself. Entire food chains are created to assist with dealing with the effects of these neglected communities. 

Nonprofits receive funding to assist with dealing with these communities. They have leadership that does not reflect the community in which they are serving. Programs are created and mismanaged to assist with the conditions of the blighted communities. 

Churches provide hope on every corner, also decimating the tax base of the community because churches pay no taxes. Many of these areas receive incentives for development in the form of programs such as the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Program that is supposed to spur development, but those funds are somehow allocated to areas that are fully developed. It seems poverty in Chicago is lucrative. 

Education has been an underserved right within these blighted communities, which is intentional. An uneducated and impoverished community is easily controlled and programmed. The political machine that is Chicago has made it very difficult to break these cycles of control and manipulation and is the source of most of the pressure that has been swelling the pipes.

Now we are generations into this problem in Chicago, and finally, we have reached critical mass. These generations suffer from the trauma inflicted on their families from slavery to Jim Crow, to the 1919 race riots, to the civil rights era, to Cointelpro. 

At critical mass, who knows where the water will shoot out when the pipe cannot be repaired any longer with duct tape. Who knows the lengths the power structure will go to maintain their position. My prayer is that we recognize the power we hold as a sleeping giant, and take our proper position to receive the full benefits of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.