Clergy Statement
Public Statement by the Religious Leaders of Chicago
We invite all clergy and religious leaders in Chicago to join our movement to heal youth violence by affirming the following statement and pledge.
263 children and youth were killed by violence in Chicago in the last three school years. Countless others live traumatized by grief and fear. The number of children affected is so staggering that it is hard to believe that there has been only fleeting and superficial public outcry.
Yet most of the violence has happened in neighborhoods long ago left behind – neighborhoods blighted by high unemployment, failing schools, little or no economic development, poor health outcomes, decaying infrastructure – neighborhoods further isolated by longstanding racial and ethnic barriers that, though unspoken, characterize Chicago city life.
Effectively walled off from the rest of “the city that works,” the children in these neighborhoods are born into a higher risk of violence through no fault of their own. Residents in these neighborhoods cope under a whelming flood of grief and neglect. Social networks fail. Just to cope, denial sets in, as well as a kind of fatalism that recognizes how little control families have over the safety of their children.
Yet most of the violence has happened in neighborhoods long ago left behind – neighborhoods blighted by high unemployment, failing schools, little or no economic development, poor health outcomes, decaying infrastructure – neighborhoods further isolated by longstanding racial and ethnic barriers that, though unspoken, characterize Chicago city life.
Effectively walled off from the rest of “the city that works,” the children in these neighborhoods are born into a higher risk of violence through no fault of their own. Residents in these neighborhoods cope under a whelming flood of grief and neglect. Social networks fail. Just to cope, denial sets in, as well as a kind of fatalism that recognizes how little control families have over the safety of their children.
In the face of this crisis – not just the loss of children but the loss of urban childhood itself – we as religious leaders pledge to deepen the public discourse around youth violence to address its root causes in racism and poverty.
We pledge our personal and institutional support to ongoing anti-violence efforts, especially those at the community level.
We pledge to challenge prejudices and inequalities that contribute to violence, to seek out and broadcast the most salient and accurate information about violence and the prevention of violence, to work toward effective public policy and programs, and to advocate for the youngest and most vulnerable of our citizens, our children.
We begin by calling all residents of Chicago to join with us to remember the children killed by violence, to mourn with their families and communities, and to stand together as One Sorrowing City for the safety of all our children.
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