On August 5, 2008, The Dean (who is very kind) referred me to the Department of Community Affairs. When I contacted the Department of Community Affairs, I had received a phone call from Mrs. Michelle Obama’s assistant. The assistant verbally intimidated and indirectly threatened to have me fired simply because I sought the Dean, several times, for help to start a pilot violence intervention prevention program for high risk young people in my neighborhood of South Shore where there are no resources and several murders have taken place.

After this incident, I was forced to question how many others have sought Mrs. Michelle Obama’s help from The Department of Community Affairs and were ignored, rejected or mistreated by her staff simply because he or she did not have any political ties or he or she is deem as an “UP” – unimportant person. Maybe the Department of Community Affairs is only to serve UCH best interest and not be concern for the neighborhood residents who are poor to working class poor and where there are no resources.

I do not know. All I know is the ending result of intimidation and threats by Mrs. Obama’s staff person when I sought Mrs. Michelle Obama’s department to help my neighborhood.

In all fairness, they did forward me to outside resources, but I was not seeking outside resources. I could have done that on my own. I was forward to Michelle Obama’s Department of Community Affairs because they can help me and I need their help. I need The University of Chicago Hospital’s help for the poor to working class poor who need resources to help educate and combat diseases and prevent deaths – that is what I need for my community.

I feel hospitals, like The University of Chicago Hospitals (although a nice place), should give back to the communities that they are indirectly profiting from the violence in these neighborhoods. If The University of Chicago Hospital of Department of Community Affairs takes an active role in starting a pilot violence intervention and prevention research program in neighborhoods needing resources, then other hospitals will begin to take a leadership role too. Because I was an employee, it would have shown how committed UCH is to their employees concerns in giving back to their communities.

The Dean had no problems in helping me and he forwarded me to the Department of Community Affairs so they could format a program to help my community, so why Mrs. Michelle Obama’s Department did not want to help my community?

The University of Chicago Hospital can easily obtain the resources needed, so what is the problem? Again, is it that I am not a politically connected person? Is it because I am not important in their sight?  Is it because I am a poor working class citizen? What was so wrong with me asking the Dean of The University of Chicago Hospital to help my community?  I did submit a proposal that I know will work.

Mrs. Michelle Obama does not know me; she may or may not know what her assistant did to me, and no I am not blaming Mrs. Obama for this assistant’s behavior. However, Mrs. Michelle Obama is still held accountable for the behavior of her staff as with any department head, and because of how I was treated by Michelle Obama’s staff person, I question rather or not others from communities, in desperate need for resources, sought Mrs. Obama’s Department of Community Affairs help and they were ignored, rejected, or mistreated?

A leader, department head, manager, or supervisor basically knows their staff.  A staff should reflect the character of the department head or leader. Mrs. Michelle Obama had to know of her assistant’s mean-spirit behavior before and overlooked it, for this assistant did not fear any consequences for the mean-spirit behavior toward me.

If Mrs. Obama did not know of her assistant’s behavior, then why not? Was this assistant following Mrs. Michelle Obama’s procedures or “unwritten” policy to reject helping the communities who are in badly need of resources? Communities who need help for high risk youth or families who do not received proper medical help or guidance?

I tried to resolve this conflict. First, I quit my temporary position at the University of Chicago due to the disrespect that I had received from Mrs. Obama’s assistant, and I had no recourse in resolving the matter. I emailed Mrs. Michelle Obama and Senator Obama several times to address my concerns. The only replies I have received were for me to donate to Senator Obama’s campaign, so I faxed a letter to three of Senator Obama’s staff offices.

For an entire month, I received no response to address my concerns for the youth and young adults who are being kill and dying on the streets in my community and other communities throughout America.

Yes. I know Senator and Mrs. Obama are very busy with the election and there are things more important than my “issue” of folks in my community being killed (Of course, I am being sarcastic.), but that is why they have a staff. A staff person should have contacted me and try to resolve my concerns and help me get resources to combat the problem. THEY DID NOT RESPOND TO ME AT ALL.

This says to me, an Obama supporter that Senator and Mrs. Michelle Obama do not care about me or my community. Which is also saying to me that I am not important as a voter or as a representative of my community? 

So, if I am being ignored by Senator and Michelle Obama now, then how are they going to treat people like me once Senator Obama is elected president?

I want to know if Senator and Michelle Obama really care about the no name people like me, and will they care about the high risk young people who are being murdered throughout America?

Senator Obama has spoken regarding working families, but neither Senator Obama nor Senator McCain has said anything regarding the violence of our high risk youth and families in America who are being killed – literally.

Let’s be honest, during this election, I have not heard anything from Senator or Mrs. Obama in regards to the violence among our high risk young people in America. I have not heard Senator Obama speak about bringing resources to the neighborhood blocks right smack where the violence is taking place.

I have not heard Senator Obama speak about helping neighborhood organizations who are not politically connected, for obvious reasons, but who are working in the trenches with very little means or resources and some organizations that do not have any resources at all. Like me, that use my working income to help my community as much as I can. These are the sincere people and organizations that really care about their community.

Could it be that because the violent deaths of our high risk young people and families in America are not important because they are African American and Hispanic and apart of the gentrification process?

(It will not be the first time, for when African American and Hispanic youth were, and still, being killed in American schools, in their neighborhoods, no one was doing anything about it - but talk.  The Government really began to act when Caucasian youth were killed in American schools in their neighborhoods.) 

Will Senator Obama answer be to just throw all the high risk youth and young adults in jail instead of developing a program that will provide a positive support and discipline system and the resources needed by partnering neighborhood organizations and people, like myself, with hospitals and other institutions to transform violent and negative behaviors within the communities and or neighborhood blocks where the violence is actually taking place?

My issue is not simply to question Senator and Mrs. Obama’s commitment to our high risk young people and the families who have lost their love ones to death and whose blood is stained on the sidewalks of our communities, but how dedicated will Senator and Mrs. Michelle Obama be to the people who will be seeking their help - people like me?

I am a Senator Obama supporter, but I have been ignored by Senator Obama’s staff and mistreated by Mrs. Obama’s staff at The University of Chicago Hospital. If this was to happen to you, would you not begin to have serious doubts about how committed Senator Obama and Mrs. Obama will be to the people in your community? 

It will not be the first time that political leaders turn their backs on the people who supported them the most and voted for them, and most African American and Hispanic groups know that Senator McCain does not care about the folks in the “hood”. (Gosh! Who am I going to vote for now?)

Yes, our Government releases millions of dollars for violence prevention programs. However, if the organizations are not politically connected, they will not get the money that is needed in their neighborhoods. The only organizations that received the big bucks are mostly politically connected.

Most true community organizations do not want to become politically connected for obvious reasons. Again, these are the organizations and people who work in the trenches and risk their lives everyday to help transform lives for a better neighborhood and overall community.

Most of the monies for violence prevention programs are not right smack within the neighborhood blocks in communities that need the resources, and one can forget about the Alderman of these communities, for most Aldermen only care about position and power. Most will jump over hoops for their mayor or other powerful people.

I am clearly aware of the past outstanding performance of Senator Obama and his once true dedication to the communities but what about now?

Can you tell me if the organizations who are not being funded will receive the financial and other help needed to combat violence and provide high risk youth and families with the resources in neighborhoods where there are no resources within blocks of each other?

Base on why I asked UCH to help me in the first place, will Mrs. Michelle Obama’s Department of Community Affairs at The University of Chicago Hospital care to do something about the violence of our young people and families in my neighborhood and throughout Chicagoland?

What role will Mrs. Michelle Obama have regarding the deaths and the school dropped-out rates of our high risk young people when she becomes First Lady of the United States of America?

As a voter, I need the assurance that Senator and Mrs. Michelle Obama is sincerely committed to the neighborhoods who are struggling with the overwhelming violent deaths of young people across America during this historic election.
 
What about you or are you going to wait until the violence hits home before you demand that the resources be spent where it is actually needed?

Remember, what impacts one person, group, or community will eventually impact all of us.

Again, will the Obama’s really care about the youth violence and families in neighborhoods who are not getting the resources needed to stop the violence across America?

And, will hospitals, like The University of Chicago Hospital, begin to take an active leadership role by actually having an outreach violence intervention research program within neighborhood blocks that have no resources at all?

7^th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson had a march on violence in the community and a back to school event in the South Shore Community. This is nothing new among politicians, church, community leaders, and other VIPs. What is amazing to me, time after time, is that a march is to bring awareness or protest against something to promote change. I knew Sandi Jackson did not care about certain sectors of people in our community when she allowed the Walgreens closing on East 79^th Street early this year.

The Alderman Sandi Jackson knew that the elderly, disabled, and sickly must walk through dangerous neighborhood blocks within their community, wait on a corner to ride the CTA bus and pay two fares ($2.00 each way) to go to another Walgreens almost a mile away to get their medication. I did everything I could to bring attention and to protest the Walgreens closing. 

Alderman Sandi Jackson and her staff made sure that my protest would not succeed.

Okay, Alderman Sandi Jackson could not stop the Walgreens closing, but she could had made certain other resources would have been made available to help our elderly, disabled, and sickly in that sector of the “hood”.  Alderman Sandi Jackson did nothing.  In fact, I have never seen her step foot on the neighborhood blocks where the violence has occurred nor where there are no resources.

Why are politicians, church and community leaders, and other VIPs marching to stop violence when most of them are the underlining cause for the violence especially our City Council and Government systems?

Do the “powers-to-be” think that the gangs will stop because of their protest marches against violence? Especially when the gangs are doing the “job” that these leaders were expecting in the first place. It amazes me that the politicians, church and community leaders, and other VIPs are indirectly profiting off the violence in our communities as well as the hospitals and other institutions and businesses.

Think about it? Violence is big business. I do not want to give you the stats to whom is profiting.  It will only fuel my anger the more, and it will be too long a list.

Our City Government and political leaders approved 70% of various Chicago Housing Authority Public Housing Residents to be “dump” into the South Shore Community. The CHA Public Housing residents came from the South to North to West to East. Our City Government, political leaders, and VIPs knew that most of these CHA residents are generational gang members from various gang territories?

The powers-that-be are aware that putting all these folks together would increase the violence in our community. The youth and young adults who have been killed were simply game piece casualties, and the rest of us are gentrification ponds to move along their wealthy game board.

Most of our politicians, church, community leaders, and other VIPs have profit off the “gentrification process” to bring the property values down so developers, such as NETWORK, can come in and buy up the land and sale the land at prices that only corporate developers can pay.

What low to middle class resident of the South Shore community you know can afford a $250,000.00 lot? Yes.  Network has purchase land all through the South Shore and other “hood” communities and their asking price is over $100,000.00 for each lot.

The Mayor and City Council have made big plans for the entire lake front. The CHA residents, the gentrification victims and the retired senior citizens who have been in their homes for over 20 years are not included in the big business plans of South Shore. They are simply ponds in the process.

Do our politicians, church, community leaders, and other VIPs really care about the high risk youth killing one another and the families and communities being destroyed due to the violence?

My answer is No – Hell No!

If most of our politicians, church, community leaders, and other VIPs really cared they would put the money and resources into building family and community sites right in the core of the neighborhood blocks where the violence is taking place. Instead, we see more blue lights and condos.  Certain sections of the South Shore are known not only as “terror town” but the “blue light district”.

As far as most of our church leaders, most care about the political relationships they can establish by “getting on board with the program”.  Most church leaders are only thinking about the money for their church (a business) and their church members who may or may not lived in the community. It is all about power, money, and political ties.  God is NOT getting the glory!

Do not think money is not in South Shore to build family youth centers to get these young people off the streets and into a discipline program sites. Millions of dollars have been awarded by huge Foundations, such as, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for the South Shore Community. Other large foundational dollars go toward only the politically connected youth organizations, churches, and other business institutions and programs in the South Shore Community and other linkages in the City.

The money that was awarded is not to help stop the victims of gentrification violence or those citizens who have lived in the South Shore Community for a long period of time.  The money is to build more “affordable” housing – a joke too. There is some money going toward youth programs, but that money goes toward the “nice” at-risk youth because they live in at-risk communities. This does not mean that the youth being helped are “at-risk” (That is another story.).

Mostly, the people and programs that are or could make a difference in reducing the violence and helping high risk youth are not politically connected. Therefore, we cannot get the money or resources that are needed to decrease the violence and killings among our high risk young people. Most would rather see these young people in jail or dead to solve the problem.

After School Matters is a program of Mrs. Daley (Mayor Daley’s wife) and this program is not in the core of neighborhood blocks in the South Shore Community where violence and youth destruction is taking place. In fact, there are little to no programs in the core of the neighborhood blocks that are being destroyed due to the violence.  These neighborhood blocks are purposely ignored.  

I am so tired of listening to folks (Black and White) talk about how compassionate they are about the killings, and how the violence “hurts their hearts”. They are not truly concern because their love ones have not been impacted – yet. But, you just wait.

I am so tired of the fake protest marches and anti-violent speeches of our fake politicians, church and community leaders, and VIPs who refuse to bring in the resources and money that is needed to decrease the violence in South Shore and other communities throughout America.

It is amazing to me and scary to think that our Government, City Council, church and community leaders, and other VIPs think that they are getting away with the indirect rape, killings, and destruction of thousands of lives and then have the nerves to insult God by saying how much they believe and love God.

Do they know that they will answer to God for the blood on their stained sidewalks and on their hands?

It is amazing to me.