Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A snap recipients. Although we've had a lot of support
from community partnerships, from churches, from local nonprofits. And I
must say that the National Urban League did send out
an SOS message to my CEO colleagues, and so I'm
(00:24):
so thankful that not only the local CEOs, for instance,
Chicago Urban League, Indianapolis Urban League absolutely absolutely, as you know,
she used to be our former mayor here. That's right.
Family is here, and we've had donations as far as
(00:48):
Miami and my daughter down in Bloomington, Indiana, which is
Chief Tillman's classmate, that sent me every battery operated and
light you can imagine, because I'm still without electricity at
my home and at the office. However, the Urban League
(01:10):
is going to lead a distribution on tomorrow, on Monday,
August twenty fourth, and that's going to begin at one
o'clock and it's going to be in the parking lot
of one of our major churches, Saint Timothy Community Church
located sixteen hundred West twenty fifth Avenue. We will be
(01:33):
passing out by water, flashlights, hygiene, nonperishable food, cleaning supplies, batteries,
hand sanitizers, and a number of other things. So that
is on tomorrow. The Urban League of north West Indiana
is leading that and anyone can call my office at
(01:56):
two one nine eight age.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Seven ninety one.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
The phones are being transferred to one of my staff members.
We need volunteers there tomorrow to unload the three Walmart
trucks that are coming. But I just want to say
thank you on behalf of myself, Doctor Vanessa Allen McLeod,
I thank you, my board, thanks you for just allowing
(02:22):
us an opportunity to talk about this. We are we
are in a crisis, but people are coming together and
we're working together to really help those in need who've
lost all of their food, everything out of the refrigerator.
You know, it's just you know, trees have fallen on cars.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And I'm sure it's just as flooding, flooding and roof
damage and damage to homes.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
I want to bring in our.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Just elite round table and we again first with her
me and her meaning you're questioning for either Chief Tillman
or President.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
Allen Well, I mean, I'm so this is so heart
selt and it's so beautiful the way the community is
coming together to kind of, you know, help each other.
But looking long range if you can what is how
what did the power the power going out?
Speaker 6 (03:22):
How can that be prevented?
Speaker 5 (03:23):
What what what what's lacking that could that could be
done differently or better.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Community power?
Speaker 6 (03:35):
How could that be prevented?
Speaker 7 (03:38):
Well, first off, we need to reinforce UH the infrastructure
that we have here for our power lines UH that
are currently in the City of Gary. These poles are
not rated to handle those type of wins that we
receive during the storm on August eleventh.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
We also need to.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
Make sure that our vegetation management program is being done
properly through NIPSKOE. That's something that's supposed to be done annually.
And with the trees that were uprooted, tangled in the
power lines, going through the roofs of the homes, pulling
(04:19):
down the weatherheads off of the homes, it just caused
widespread power outages throughout this whole area. And so this
is something that we will be looking to because it
doesn't seem like these storms are gonna slow down anytime soon,
and so we're gonna have to make sure that we
(04:41):
have a system that can handle the storms that we've
been seeing in this area.
Speaker 8 (04:47):
In Jim question, you mentioned you know going forward, mister Tillman,
is the Fire Department or the city taking any steps
to grapple with climate change and the fact that these
sorts of disasters are becoming more common.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Well, yeah, Well, we have an Emergency Preparedness Group where
we work closely with the Lake County Department of Homeland
Security to track the different things, the different storms and
weather phenomenons that are happening in our area. The National
Weather Service does a great job of keeping us abreast
(05:31):
of things coming of our coming our way and having
meetings when those events are getting.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Ready to happen.
Speaker 7 (05:38):
And so much like this storm where the American Red
Cross along with the city has established sheltering.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
And relief for the area.
Speaker 7 (05:52):
Those are things that we're working on having in place
where everything will be identified, just like we did it
for this storm, for if it was to happen again,
we will have a playbook to go by. And this
is just something that you have to have in place,
especially when you live in the area that has adverse
(06:13):
weather events on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
And to doctor mcnern, I really want you to Reddit
and Chief Tillman's credit that Emergency Preparedness Committee group is
also made up of community persons. Of course he has
his personnel, but nonprofits and some of the local church
(06:39):
leaders in my office also we are part.
Speaker 9 (06:43):
Of this group.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And I'm sure the Chief that moving forward, we will
be having more conversations about steps to help us when
this kind of disaster comes.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah, Dostin McNair, I want you to personalize this.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Go ahead, Chief Tillman.
Speaker 10 (07:02):
I was just.
Speaker 7 (07:02):
Gonna touch on what doctor McLeod said. You know, early
twenty twenty four, we started having these conversations about preparedness
and it it was important to us, but we hadn't
had events that really made it make it make sense
to the whole group. And at this point, I think
that's what we have right now, those community groups like COAD,
(07:26):
Community Organizations against Disasters, bo AD, Volunteerizations against Disasters, all
of your faith based organizations, your city administrations, all coming
together for one collective goal of creating a more resilient community.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Doctor McNair, I want you to personalize this in a
sense that the south suburbs, the south Land there was
also devastated by the recent storms, but yet the power
outage is and Illinois lasted for maximum of two or
three days.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
What question do you have and ask that question.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
In face of that what seems to be a dual
reality here for neighbors.
Speaker 11 (08:14):
Yeah, I live in Homewood and so I saw it
up close and so to see and I can expand
this discussion to think of the support that the federal
government has given Indiana relative to the lack of support
that is given Illinois. That's very stark and that's clear.
(08:37):
So residents of Illinois they cannot ask for federal help.
Those who live in Indiana can. Now, as a school administrator,
I also have to put my educational hat on. Let's
look at the impact that it's having on our youth.
I know schools in Indiana start date was put back,
(08:57):
so it certainly is a public health crisis, but there's
also a mental health crisis.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
For our youth.
Speaker 11 (09:03):
So I would like to know what's happening in terms
of the schools. How will support be given to our youth?
This is catastrophic for them even when they come to school,
think about the impact that it's going to have on
them mentally. So can you all speak to that?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I do know, doctor mc.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yes, I do know that the Gary Community School Corporation Superintendent,
Doctor Yvon Stokes as well as all other educational leaders
and entities are working closely with the City of Gary
under Melton and also the utility company and hopefully many
(09:48):
of those schools will reopen on this Monday. Chief Tailman,
you may have some more updated information than I do,
but I know that it's important to get our children,
our youth back in the schools, and the schools are
preparing to make sure that they have the electricity, and
(10:11):
not only that, that they have a safe space for
children to come and be back in with their friends,
and they will also be served meals because you know,
many times children are coming to school for breakfast and
for lunch, and so we have a number of community
groups that are working along with the schools. But we
(10:34):
are anticipating, we are praying and anticipating that the schools
will be open on Monday.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
But my concern there is one that was spoken about
in terms of doctor McNair, Doctor McLeod, and that is
the emotional toll. Usually, the start of school means that
you go into school with your new backpack and you
new clothes and your new sneakers and things like that.
How do you literally do that or have that sense
(11:09):
of excitement that is part of the back to school
experience when you don't even know where to find your
clothes because there's no light for you to get dressed,
and there's no breakfast that's being served. I understand the
reality in terms of because we have a large contingent
of kids that depend on the free breakfast and lunch
(11:31):
programs to make sure that they get their nutritional needs met.
But I'm really concerned is there is some sort of
concerted effort to deal with the emotional trauma in terms
of trying to have a kid go back to school
when there's no power when they sleep and everything's dark.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Absolutely, I do know that the counselors, the guidance counselors,
and social workers are already working on a plan.
Speaker 11 (12:01):
I know that they have been meeting.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
To talk about the social emotional impact that this has
had on the children and their families, and so they are.
And in terms of clothing, we have several nonprofits and
other agencies that have clothing. Our local Calumet Trustees office
and others have clothing that they're going to be providing
(12:27):
that they have on hand for the children to be
able to.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Get.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You know, they're giving those out free of charge. So
let me just say this, this is.
Speaker 11 (12:40):
New for us. We have never experienced.
Speaker 12 (12:43):
Anything like this.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
But I want you to know that everyone is looking
at all of those areas that you just spoke about.
And we also have our Community Health Net and we
have Edgewater Services which is our local agency that also
assist us with the psychological and social impact of this.
(13:05):
So we will be meeting with doctor Dunita Johnson Hughes
and doctor Janet Sebrook, who is our Health Commissioner, who
will be leading those efforts to help us with the
social and emotional impact that this is having on our
children and our families.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
And finally Chief Tillman in terms of what kind of
kind of recompense is going to occur with regard to
the people that have lost all of the food as
well as property damage. What has the governor said what?
And of course doctor McNairy alluded to this. What is
(13:49):
the federal.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Government doing in an effort with regard to FEMA.
Speaker 7 (13:55):
So the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has already opened
up the portal for grants for disaster relief for individuals
who have lost or had damage to their home where
they can go in and apply for an existing five
(14:16):
thousand dollars grant. The calculations for FEMA are still going
in from each municipality to make sure that we meet
the threshold for disaster relief.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I'm pretty sure that we're.
Speaker 7 (14:31):
Already there with our preliminary numbers, but those were just
back of the Napkin numbers that we turned in on Friday.
We have to make sure that we track everything going
forward with regards to ours worked, all of the equipment
that has been used, all of the contractors that have
(14:51):
come in, all of the things that were lost and
damaged throughout the city, and so that's going to take
some time. This is not going to be something that's
going to be over in a couple of months.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
It will take.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
Probably over a year or more to recover everything that
is happening to the city and to get the infrastructure
in place.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I do want to speak to.
Speaker 7 (15:18):
The emotional uh uh gate of the children. We did
bring in e a p for the city employees already,
and we had counselor talk to the employees of the
city individuals that were in the shelter, So we have
(15:40):
already started that portion. I know the concern is the
school and I know I know that Superintendent Stokes is
going to most likely.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Be doing the same thing there.
Speaker 7 (15:51):
She has been very supportive of the effort by giving
the food that were that was in the schools to
the shelter in order to cook during that time because
there was no power in the schools, so they first
have to replenish the food that they already lost for
the beginning of the school year. They were at a
(16:15):
community event last week where they spoke with Nipskoe and
they did They handed the representatives from Nipscow a list
of the schools to prioritize to Doctor's point about getting
the schools open quickly. So those efforts are already in
(16:36):
place where they're trying to get the schools back open
and they're trying to work on the emotional status of
our community to make sure that we're mentally in a
good place.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
You know, listen, we wish nothing but the best for you.
We want to thank doctor Vanessa Allen McLeod as well
as Chief Larry Tillman the Second for joining us this
morning and if there's anything that we can do to help,
please let us know come.
Speaker 10 (17:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Coming up next we're going to do You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Coming up next, we're going to discuss the other top
news stories of the week, from the potential renaming of
a of an aircraft carrier that was named after a
Black World War two hero to possibly being named after
President Trump in an unprecedented move move, as well as
we're going to talk about the start of Chicago public schools.
(17:30):
Call us right now at eight three three five nine
one V one O three.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
What's your thoughts? We'll be right back.
Speaker 13 (17:37):
Chicago Speaks with Daryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now toll free at eight three three five nine
one V one O three. Now back to Chicago Speaks
with Daryl Denard. Share what's on your mind? Toll free
at eight three three five nine to one V one
out three.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
And welcome back.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Time. Check for you right now is I've been twenty
and we are engaged in a discussion of the top
news stories of the week. We talked about the situation
and Gary. We want to get to at least a
couple of callers there that have called in to give
us a first hand reality in terms of what they're experiencing.
We're going to hear first from first time caller Crystal.
(18:18):
She's calling from the great City of Gary, Indiana. Crystal,
your own Chicago speaks. Thanks for being the first time caller.
You're comment to question.
Speaker 14 (18:27):
More of a comment, just explaining to people who are
what we're really going through.
Speaker 10 (18:34):
For me, I'm one day twelve no power, elderly parents
that I'm taking care of. My street has elderly people
where I have to see.
Speaker 14 (18:44):
About just making sure they have food and things like that.
But for to be twelve days and no power, it's crazy.
We sit with a tree with a light whole lifted
up the way. They can't move the tree because the
lighthole g and the right We haven't even came and
looked at.
Speaker 10 (19:00):
It, but even came and look at it. Then I
understand it takes time, it takes surveys. But if I
look on the next street and I'm looking at nipsical
trucks on the next street, and no one's came on
that street to even look to see that damage to
where that is important everybody, it's like really sad. Appreciates
(19:21):
because I also worked for the school system, then I
do have worked for two weeks. My savings is depleted
just to take care of me and my parents. It's
only child, as will so oh this is swallowing on me.
So yeah, as far as a mental the last couple
of days, Dad started to take that toll You can't
(19:44):
get in the line because the lines are so cool.
We can't even get grives to get food.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Jim, I know you had a quick question.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
M Yeah, okay, Well Crystal, just hang in there and
know that I know it sounds cliche, but help is
on the way and if you can just hold out
just a little bit longer, I'm I'm sure that things
are going to get better, or we hope that things
get better for you. Okay, and thanks for being the
(20:21):
first time. Please make sure.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
It's not your life. I know it is.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Indeed it is it is, But please be encouraged because
there are a lot of people that there, and I
think that I know the churches there are trying to
do their best. This is a time when it really
takes a village to care for those.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
That are impacted in the village.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So be encouraged there and if there's anything that we
can my heart radio please let us know. I want
to go also to Paul right now Paul is calling
all so from the city of Gary, Indiana. Paul, thanks
for your patience. You're coming to question this morning.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Thank good morning there. How you doing that?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
We're good?
Speaker 9 (21:10):
Man?
Speaker 3 (21:10):
How are you going?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I haven't yeah, man, I was going to wonder Jet
how you was going to greet me. Man, it's been
five years since I talked to you. I know, I
talk to you, wow twenty right in twenty one, eighteen days.
I was going to find you on anniversary. I'd have
been September the eleventh. But this is a catastrophic thing
that came about. So I called you a little earlier.
(21:33):
You know, uh, you know, I also reside up in
Grand View, but you know, Gary is my home and
I have my people, you know, and Gary. And one
of the things I want to say, man, you know,
you know I told you about the eCos, how it
was going to change things, and it didn't change things
because of the shortage of housing. And you be, I've
(21:53):
been listening to you, man for like fifteen years or
more over fifteen years.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 9 (21:59):
And you know I.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Warned you guys about you know, what was you know
was going to happen as far as immigration and how
it's going to change housing. And then we had a
lot of bad actors that came in from the city. Man,
they swooped in. I got a cousin that lives in Gary.
He calls one of the local radio stations and he
tells them about the housing cartel that has involved themselves
from Chicago. Not the drug cartail. See we had to
(22:23):
drug cartaeil. They did a whami on Gary. But hey, man,
back to this about this man, Geary wasn't ready for
prime time. Man, it wasn't you know, you know, the
the climate change and came about it and shifted from
Kansas and Oklahoma and we right in the bull's eye
right about now. And so you know Nisco, you know,
(22:44):
they just came off of strike, and Nipsco came off
of strike and a lot of workers they moved on
and they were running kind of shorter men. Nipsco were
doing a fabulous job. Man, they have been doing a
fabulous job of what they was up against. Those trees
they do pull them back, you know, you call them,
you know, we call them. And I got pictures, man,
(23:05):
I was gonna post man, they come out, guy take
a picture. He take them back. To the headquarters, they
come out and term the trees. They were dealing with
a lot of older vegetation, but that vegitation wasn't touching
those lines, and that's why they don't cut them. A
lot of the trees they were posted up on private
property too, man. And when they posted up on private property,
they cast a lot of money. Gets some trees. It
(23:26):
cast about fourteen seventeen hundred dollars sometimes you know South
Fork three thousand dollars. But uh, you know, I mean
they'll you know, it's been a while, man since we talked. Yeah,
you know, I wasn't gonna call because but I love you,
you know, and I love the people and Garrett. I
just want to tell them, you know, just you know,
(23:47):
things may get better and things may not get better,
you know, as soon as we think it's going to
get better. But what I can tell them, I told
them that gar wasn't going to be ready for this.
You know, they got a school ROLEVELT. They got a school,
uh you know, uh the Genesee Center a closed down.
Then the other school I was going to say, or
(24:09):
West Side School. They didn't have anything in place, you know,
for such a catastrophic situation like this, it's going to
be other things to come.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Man.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
This is just the doctors before the day. So hey,
darn man, I thank you for taking my call. Man,
I wanted to say more, but I know you got
to rush through this. But I want to say this
about that ship. You know, that's that's that's going to
be renamed maybe and uh, you know it shouldn't be
renamed because that family, you know, was promised that their
relative was gonna, you know, get.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Jilled, promise that you had President Trump. Literally, you have
President Trump literally extolling the heroic efforts of Doris Dorry
Miller and saying and then he jokingly offhand during that
same statement, he said, yeah, I would love to have
a UH aircraft carryer named after me.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Literally that was in nineteen that was in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
He was president at the time, right, And well, you know,
you know it's sad, well, you know, it's just something
in terms of the impact of the family there. But
I thank you, Paul, and I appreciate your faithfulness there, man,
and also that you still listen to my brother want
to quickly go to Alfred because he also has a
quick comment. Appreciate you brother. Moving on to Alfred. Right now,
(25:29):
Alfred h you had a comment that was kind of interesting.
Tell me about it, Alfred, go ahead, Well.
Speaker 9 (25:37):
The National Guard should have been Timmy and Gary and him.
That's bad leadership from the top. You started, the government's
the government, the mayor. They be inmployed that national Guards. Interesting,
you wouldn't be talking about this today, you wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
We haven't a former I hate we have a former
officer for the Illinois National Guard. In terms of doctor
Jerald McNair your reflections on what Alfred just talked about.
Speaker 11 (26:09):
That's a good point. I mean, that's a very good point.
I haven't heard anyone speak to that. The question is
why weren't they deployed. That's a very good point, Albert.
I know the National Guard has been politicized in a
lot of states. In fact, there was a shooting one
of the NIPSCO trucks were shot at, and so you
talk talk about Biden. That wasn't widespread, So I don't
(26:29):
want to overstate it, but there was a shooting which
would lead one to believe that perhaps the National Guard
could have been deployed. But that's an outstanding point. But
I think I would argue that they didn't want to
make it look like this as a police response. I
think this is more of a soft approach. This is
more of making sure our citizens because we have to
(26:50):
remind you this wasn't just an issue that was limited
to Gary. I have teachers who not Monster, I mean Monster, all.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Of north West Indiana.
Speaker 11 (27:02):
West three Northwest Indiana as a whole. But I don't
think they wanted to use a sledgehammer for this response.
Why do kind of see them not airing on the
side of law and order, but more of a more
soft approach.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Okay, hey, Alfred, I appreciate you man, continue to listen.
I want to shift gears and talk about this incident
with the potential renaming of the aircraft carrier that was
supposed to be named for the heroic efforts of Private
Dorry Miller, and now what's happening is that there is
(27:36):
a distinct possibility that it may be renamed after President Trump.
The extraordinary situation here her mean is that this will
be the first time that a vessel, a major vessel,
military vessel, would be named after a sitting president.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
This is a sad reality.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
The West Virginia native has a whole plat named after
him in West Virginia.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
But go ahead for me.
Speaker 6 (28:03):
I don't know all of the rules of naming the
ship is to go through Congress and what committee it
goes through and so forth, But this is insanity. Trump
has never even worn a uniform, an army, Navy military uniform,
so he's out of it completely. This man is so
(28:26):
insane and so preposterous of having his name on anything
and everything until it's just ridiculous. It's insanity. It sounds
like a Saturday Night Live skit. Dorian Miller was a hero.
He should be recognized as a hero. And the other
lane that this falls into is Trump just trying to
(28:48):
name everything after himself, but also the erasure of blackness
in America. This is as American as you possibly can
get at. And this man should have the recognition that
he deserves. And Trump should go sit down somewhere.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And I'm like I.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
Said, I don't know the I don't know if this
goes through Congress or whatever. I don't know. Most most
of the times when you're naming.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Something, he is the commander. He is the commander in chief,
but he is a command Is.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
That that is that That's why I said it's unprecedented.
And really, before we hear from Jim, I want to
bring doctor McNair, having served our country for at least
ten years in the National Guard.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Yes, this is a true hero. Matter of facturer.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
He was depicted in the movie, in the movie Pearl
Harbor by j J.
Speaker 8 (29:46):
That's right.
Speaker 11 (29:47):
Uh, And I mean to your point, generally it's done posthumously,
and it's done through legislative actions. Now through executive order,
President can he can, but Julius in poor taste and
so all of the normal what we call quote unquote
normal ways of how we uh things are governed. You know,
Trump has more or less turned that on his head.
(30:09):
But this is very difficult for the family. It's very
difficult for black soldiers. This sin is a very bad
You talk about morale amongst black soldiers. I happen to
know a few black soldiers who are still serving. The
morale in some pockets it's very low. This just causes
even more dissension or more dissonance amongst troops. This is
a black hero World War two.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Uh.
Speaker 11 (30:29):
He wasn't even supposed to be in that particular fight.
But because he has honor, his his valor. He took
that fight and uh, he was awarded. So to take
this back, it just it shows you how we're not
only erasing black history, but how we're looking at black
soldiers and we're looking at looking at them as expendable
(30:52):
and it's it's it's uh. But the impact it has
on troops right now is the question. Hawsop says something.
Who's the senator and the Senator Hawsoff and George just
said something that was very striking. He Hawsoff says, I'm
very striking. He called Trump a crooked draft dodger. Now
(31:13):
I think he might have overstated it, but the fact that,
as Hormen's point, he has never worn the uniform and
in some aspects he perhaps dodged the draft for him
to take this stance. But we're the Republicans. They have
to speak out on this and this can be stopped
or we need Republicans to fight and move this in
another direction.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
I want you to handle this, Jim, from a different
kind of perspective, because here it is you throw this
in the mix. We still get the Epstein filed, but
you throw this in the mix, and then you also
throw in the fact that our closest ally and neighbor
that we share an incredible warder with is now engaged,
(31:57):
according to the Prime Minister, a war with its.
Speaker 15 (32:01):
Closest ally over these tariffs. I thought as well as
this fit into the mix in terms of this reality.
But first let me hear from Jim. I mean, then
you can comment. First, Jim gun Jim.
Speaker 8 (32:13):
It's just the latest salvo of ridiculousness coming out of
this administration, and in this particular case, I just want
to add a little bit of context about Petty Officer Miller.
He was assigned as a cook and during the attack
on Pearl Harbor, he carried other soldiers wounded soldiers to safety,
and he also, with no training on the gun, took
(32:35):
control of an anti aircraft gun and shot down two
attacking planes. He survived Pearl Harbor but continued to serve
and was later killed in action in a battle in
the Pacific. Meanwhile, President Trump got five deferments during the
Vietnam War, and, as Ms. Hartman said, did not serve
this country in a military capacity. So you know, it's
(32:56):
it's the latest. And also another piece of this litany
is that this is also happening while sailors aboard the
USS Lincoln are going in squalid conditions, not having fresh
food and all of this. Part of the reason, part
of the reason for that is because the Secretary of Defense,
Pete Hexat, covered up the fact that they base that
supplies that ship was hit by missiles from Iran in
(33:20):
a war of choice by this administration that they are
unable to get out of and losing. And and so
you know, the the idea that at this moment in time,
the president would choose to attempt to do this kind
of you know, yet another racist action to aggrandize his
own legacy. And you know, as miss Hartin said, put
(33:41):
his name on something just to do it. Really it's
it's his own ego and racism behind this. And and
also just say, you know, with regard to the erasure
of specifically Petty Officer Miller's history, you know, he was
he was awarded the Navy Cross, which is the second
highest honor you can get. That's right, serves, it's after
(34:01):
the Medal of Honor, and he was denied the Medal
of Honor because of racism in what was then called
the Department of War. The Secretary of War didn't believe
that black serviceman should serve, and so his family's been
fighting for that recognition for decades and to have this
dishonor placed on him by the current president, it's a
shame in and outrage.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Outrage. Yeah, and we want to say that this hasn't
been official yet, but there is of course the possibility
of it happening. I want to shift gears right now. Tomorrow,
more than three hundred thousand students from grades from grades
K through high school will head back to school in Chicago.
CPS has a special site devoted to everything back to
(34:44):
school and it's located at CPS dot edu.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Now, if you would like.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
To speak to somebody for family support, CPS also has
a community engagement hotline. That number is seven seven to
three five five three base once again, seven seventy three
five five three facee. As we get ready to close
out here, you got about a minute, and I'd like
(35:11):
to tap your wonderful expertise as a school administrator, Doctor McNair,
what advice do you have for kids going.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Back to school as well as their caregivers? Attendance is important.
Speaker 11 (35:24):
Forty two percent of African American students are still viewed
as chronically absent in the state of Illinois.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
We've got to do better. That's right.
Speaker 11 (35:36):
In the state of Illinois have viewed us chronically absent.
What that means is they're missing ten percent of the
school days, so essentially school essentially it's one hundred and
eighty days in a school year. Missing ten percent is
at minimum eighteen days. We have teachers, administrators, they are
ready to teach and pour so much into the kids,
but you can't teach them if they're not there. So
(35:56):
this first day of school start off, well, let's get
these kids.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
In school, first week, first month.
Speaker 11 (36:04):
It's this every day, but forty percent of African American
kids chronically absent. That is a crisis and that is
something that our legislatures need to need to address. We
need to put the necessary support around us so we
can improve that data. And when you do that, you
will see the educational gap decrease.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Gone are the days of the truant officers where people
would literally knock on your door and say where is
your child and why isn't that child in school? Well,
we want to thank doctor Jerol McNair, Hermine Hartman, as
well as Jim Daily for joining us and providing us
with their wonderful expertise. Coming up on the other side
of the break, we're going to tell you about the
(36:46):
wonderful Black and Bronze Festival that's taking place where else
but Bronsville. You're listening to Chicago Speaks, please stay with us.
Speaker 13 (36:56):
Chicago Speaks with Darryl Denard. You can voice your opinion
right now, toll free at eight three three five nine
to one V.
Speaker 14 (37:04):
One O three.
Speaker 13 (37:06):
Now back to Chicago Speaks with Darryl Dinard, Share what's
on your mind, toll free at eight three three five
nine to one V one O three.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
There was a time when Chicago's Bronxville section was one
of the black music capitalists of the nation. Next week,
Chicago's Armstrong Park will be the place to be for music, food,
fun and information with Black and Bronze, a Bronxville music festival.
Joining me this morning to talk about everything that's available
(37:38):
there is Pavio Goldman. She is head of PR and
media influencer relations for the Black and Bronx Festival. Pavio,
how are you doing?
Speaker 12 (37:48):
I am thriving. Thank you so much for having me
on today.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Darryl, I'm we talk with you.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
It is a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Also on this side, we really want to inform people
about things that are happening in our neighborhoods, and this
sounds like a must attend event. What was the reason
for creating the festival.
Speaker 12 (38:09):
Yeah, so the festival was founded out of our urgent
need to document and expand the narrative around Bronzeville, around Chicago,
and especially Black Chicago. And we have taken that call very,
(38:32):
very seriously. We want to bring a lot of joy
and delight to our communities and make sure that our
stories are being told in a way that expands the
narrative in a really positive way.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Now, we want to tell people that Armstrong Park is
located in the heart of Bronzeville at forty four to
thirty three South St. Lawrence Avenue, and the festival has
taking place next Saturday from one to seven pm. I
love the fact that you divided the festival into parts
commemorating Bronzeville legends like Ida b Wells and Sam Cook.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Talk about that.
Speaker 12 (39:10):
Yes, yes, we have several different areas of the park.
One of the areas that we're super excited for people
to experience is the I to Be Well courts.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
She's a journalist.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
She's going to be upset that you took the S
off of her name.
Speaker 8 (39:27):
There.
Speaker 12 (39:29):
Yeah, yeah, for the wordplay, we had to make some
creative decisions. But this is a section of the festival
that will be completely dedicated to wellness. We will have yoga,
we'll have pilates, and three on three basketball tournaments and
(39:51):
duck dunk contests all happening throughout the day. And then
we also have our Sam cook Food Court and us
Sam Cook Off between our hot food vendors where there
is the opportunity to win five hundred dollars.
Speaker 4 (40:08):
Now that sounds exciting.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Give me some more details on that, because everybody or
many families at least have one would be chef, if
not a real chef.
Speaker 12 (40:18):
Oh yes, So the Sam Cookoff is really focused on
elevating the hot food vendors that we have partnered with
in the park. So one of them is Irey Parker
who makes delicious gourmet pizza puffs, a very Chicago food tradition,
(40:39):
and these vendors are hot food vendors will be competing
amongst themselves for the five hundred dollars price.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
Wow, and one of the major components of this entire
festival is its music. And I mentioned at the top
of the program that literally Bronzeville was the music hub
and showcase of America's major black talent.
Speaker 12 (41:06):
Yes, yes, Bronsville has given Chicago and the world so
much from jazz, gospel, R and B, and then across literature, entrepreneurship,
the whole range of cultural legacy, and Bronsville has nurtured
folks like Louis Armstrong, not King Cole, and the festival
(41:27):
in our programming reflects that with a lot of intention,
we have four different genres of music that will be
highlighted during Black and brons Fest this coming Saturday.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
I'm sorry, I said, give me the schedule.
Speaker 12 (41:42):
Yes, So we will have a jazz segment, We'll have
a gospel, there's a soul segment, and then we close
out the day with a hip hop segment. And each
segment will be incorporating music from our musical pioneers while
(42:04):
also infusing brand new music that these independent artists have
created themselves.
Speaker 4 (42:10):
Who are some of the artists.
Speaker 12 (42:13):
So our founder of the festival, Jessica Larell Anderson is
hot is headlining the soul segment. She's an incredible independent
artist with multiple albums out and has toured with huge
names like the Sunday Service Choir. And we are also
(42:36):
going to have a wonderful artist named v Armstrong performing
with us our jazz artists. Is an up and coming
woman in the industry. She's performing all over the city
and everyone is so so so talented.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Capital raised and the money exchanged here also helped benefit
the community househo.
Speaker 12 (43:04):
Yes, yes, So. We have founded a nonprofit called Ken
forty three and that is the organization that is putting
on the festival. All funds, whether that's ticket purchases or
just direct donations to the festival, will be funneled into
(43:26):
Ken forty three and we are working to invest in
independent artists, putting on programming, investing in their artists development.
We are also partnering with organizations throughout the community to
elevate wellness and investing our dollars back into our community
(43:48):
through small business investment as well.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Now we know that this is the second to annual
Black and Bronze Festival, what were you able to learn
from the first time it occurred.
Speaker 12 (44:01):
We had so many learnings from last year's festival. It
was an incredible day that raised so much revenue for
our black business owners. We generated over sixty thousand dollars
of revenue for our small businesses and makers in the park,
and we're expanding the opportunity to even more vendors this year.
(44:23):
We have also added directional signage to the park because
it is a large park and we want people to
be able to find their way to the different areas
and activations with ease. Additionally, we have moved our just
made it more convenience to access all of the different activations,
(44:44):
so made our food court a little bit more accessible,
and we've partnered with more even more community organizations.
Speaker 6 (44:54):
This year.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
And one thing I love about Bronzeville is that it's
still maintains its authenticity in many respects. So many times
with gentrification there tends to be a kind of just
kind of a rature of the culture that existed before.
But that's really not the case here with regard to Bronsville.
Speaker 12 (45:19):
Yes, that is one of the beautiful things about Bronsville, indeed,
and it's all because of the people, people like the
folks putting on black and bronze vest who really invest
in preserving and expanding the legacy of this neighborhood. We
(45:41):
do this work with a lot of intention and a
lot of heart. We are regular people who live in
this community and just want to see our history preserved
and our legacy expanded.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
So give us how we can find out further information
about everything that's going to happen in Armstrong Park next Saturday.
Speaker 12 (46:04):
Yes, Black and Bronze Fest is everywhere you are on
the Internet. You can find us at Blackanbronsfest dot com.
You'll be able to find us across social media. That's
your Facebook, your Instagram, your TikTok all at Black and
Bronze Fest, and you can find us in the park
(46:27):
at arms Park this Saturday, next Saturday, August twenty ninth,
from one to seven pm. That is forty four to
thirty three South St. Lawrence Avenue.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
Yeah, that is definitely going to be the place to
be in considering the fact that you got yoga impilates.
I don't know if I'm gonna do both, but I'll
definitely try to do one also and stay for the
music as well as the food.
Speaker 12 (46:54):
Yes, it's gonna be a great time. I cannot wait
to see you out there.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
That sounds good.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
Well Radio here in Chicago, we are proud to be
a sponsor of Black and Bronze, the Black and Bronze Festival, Pavia.
We want to thank you so much for joining us
this morning.
Speaker 12 (47:11):
Thank you so much for having me, Darryl. It was
a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Well.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
That wraps up this edition of Chicago Speaks. As always,
I want to thank my guests, but most importantly you
the listeners and callers into this program. If you desire
news on a twenty four to seven basis, it's always
available with our assister station with the Black Information Network
at AM six forty right now and get ready to
get your praise on with Sonya Blaky.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
I'm Darryl den Art. We'll see you back.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Here next Sunday, beginning at six am for another edition
of Chicago Speaks.
Speaker 4 (47:41):
Please be sure to take care of yourself.
A snap recipients. Although we've had a lot of support
from community partnerships, from churches, from local nonprofits. And I
must say that the National Urban League did send out
an SOS message to my CEO colleagues, and so I'm
(00:24):
so thankful that not only the local CEOs, for instance,
Chicago Urban League, Indianapolis Urban League absolutely absolutely, as you know,
she used to be our former mayor here. That's right.
Family is here, and we've had donations as far as
(00:48):
Miami and my daughter down in Bloomington, Indiana, which is
Chief Tillman's classmate, that sent me every battery operated and
light you can imagine, because I'm still without electricity at
my home and at the office. However, the Urban League
(01:10):
is going to lead a distribution on tomorrow, on Monday,
August twenty fourth, and that's going to begin at one
o'clock and it's going to be in the parking lot
of one of our major churches, Saint Timothy Community Church
located sixteen hundred West twenty fifth Avenue. We will be
(01:33):
passing out by water, flashlights, hygiene, nonperishable food, cleaning supplies, batteries,
hand sanitizers, and a number of other things. So that
is on tomorrow. The Urban League of north West Indiana
is leading that and anyone can call my office at
(01:56):
two one nine eight age.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Seven ninety one.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
The phones are being transferred to one of my staff members.
We need volunteers there tomorrow to unload the three Walmart
trucks that are coming. But I just want to say
thank you on behalf of myself, Doctor Vanessa Allen McLeod,
I thank you, my board, thanks you for just allowing
(02:22):
us an opportunity to talk about this. We are we
are in a crisis, but people are coming together and
we're working together to really help those in need who've
lost all of their food, everything out of the refrigerator.
You know, it's just you know, trees have fallen on cars.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And I'm sure it's just as flooding, flooding and roof
damage and damage to homes.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
I want to bring in our.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Just elite round table and we again first with her
me and her meaning you're questioning for either Chief Tillman
or President.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
Allen Well, I mean, I'm so this is so heart
selt and it's so beautiful the way the community is
coming together to kind of, you know, help each other.
But looking long range if you can what is how
what did the power the power going out?
Speaker 6 (03:22):
How can that be prevented?
Speaker 5 (03:23):
What what what what's lacking that could that could be
done differently or better.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Community power?
Speaker 6 (03:35):
How could that be prevented?
Speaker 7 (03:38):
Well, first off, we need to reinforce UH the infrastructure
that we have here for our power lines UH that
are currently in the City of Gary. These poles are
not rated to handle those type of wins that we
receive during the storm on August eleventh.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
We also need to.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
Make sure that our vegetation management program is being done
properly through NIPSKOE. That's something that's supposed to be done annually.
And with the trees that were uprooted, tangled in the
power lines, going through the roofs of the homes, pulling
(04:19):
down the weatherheads off of the homes, it just caused
widespread power outages throughout this whole area. And so this
is something that we will be looking to because it
doesn't seem like these storms are gonna slow down anytime soon,
and so we're gonna have to make sure that we
(04:41):
have a system that can handle the storms that we've
been seeing in this area.
Speaker 8 (04:47):
In Jim question, you mentioned you know going forward, mister Tillman,
is the Fire Department or the city taking any steps
to grapple with climate change and the fact that these
sorts of disasters are becoming more common.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Well, yeah, Well, we have an Emergency Preparedness Group where
we work closely with the Lake County Department of Homeland
Security to track the different things, the different storms and
weather phenomenons that are happening in our area. The National
Weather Service does a great job of keeping us abreast
(05:31):
of things coming of our coming our way and having
meetings when those events are getting.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Ready to happen.
Speaker 7 (05:38):
And so much like this storm where the American Red
Cross along with the city has established sheltering.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
And relief for the area.
Speaker 7 (05:52):
Those are things that we're working on having in place
where everything will be identified, just like we did it
for this storm, for if it was to happen again,
we will have a playbook to go by. And this
is just something that you have to have in place,
especially when you live in the area that has adverse
(06:13):
weather events on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
And to doctor mcnern, I really want you to Reddit
and Chief Tillman's credit that Emergency Preparedness Committee group is
also made up of community persons. Of course he has
his personnel, but nonprofits and some of the local church
(06:39):
leaders in my office also we are part.
Speaker 9 (06:43):
Of this group.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And I'm sure the Chief that moving forward, we will
be having more conversations about steps to help us when
this kind of disaster comes.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah, Dostin McNair, I want you to personalize this.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Go ahead, Chief Tillman.
Speaker 10 (07:02):
I was just.
Speaker 7 (07:02):
Gonna touch on what doctor McLeod said. You know, early
twenty twenty four, we started having these conversations about preparedness
and it it was important to us, but we hadn't
had events that really made it make it make sense
to the whole group. And at this point, I think
that's what we have right now, those community groups like COAD,
(07:26):
Community Organizations against Disasters, bo AD, Volunteerizations against Disasters, all
of your faith based organizations, your city administrations, all coming
together for one collective goal of creating a more resilient community.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Doctor McNair, I want you to personalize this in a
sense that the south suburbs, the south Land there was
also devastated by the recent storms, but yet the power
outage is and Illinois lasted for maximum of two or
three days.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
What question do you have and ask that question.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
In face of that what seems to be a dual
reality here for neighbors.
Speaker 11 (08:14):
Yeah, I live in Homewood and so I saw it
up close and so to see and I can expand
this discussion to think of the support that the federal
government has given Indiana relative to the lack of support
that is given Illinois. That's very stark and that's clear.
(08:37):
So residents of Illinois they cannot ask for federal help.
Those who live in Indiana can. Now, as a school administrator,
I also have to put my educational hat on. Let's
look at the impact that it's having on our youth.
I know schools in Indiana start date was put back,
(08:57):
so it certainly is a public health crisis, but there's
also a mental health crisis.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
For our youth.
Speaker 11 (09:03):
So I would like to know what's happening in terms
of the schools. How will support be given to our youth?
This is catastrophic for them even when they come to school,
think about the impact that it's going to have on
them mentally. So can you all speak to that?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I do know, doctor mc.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yes, I do know that the Gary Community School Corporation Superintendent,
Doctor Yvon Stokes as well as all other educational leaders
and entities are working closely with the City of Gary
under Melton and also the utility company and hopefully many
(09:48):
of those schools will reopen on this Monday. Chief Tailman,
you may have some more updated information than I do,
but I know that it's important to get our children,
our youth back in the schools, and the schools are
preparing to make sure that they have the electricity, and
(10:11):
not only that, that they have a safe space for
children to come and be back in with their friends,
and they will also be served meals because you know,
many times children are coming to school for breakfast and
for lunch, and so we have a number of community
groups that are working along with the schools. But we
(10:34):
are anticipating, we are praying and anticipating that the schools
will be open on Monday.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
But my concern there is one that was spoken about
in terms of doctor McNair, Doctor McLeod, and that is
the emotional toll. Usually, the start of school means that
you go into school with your new backpack and you
new clothes and your new sneakers and things like that.
How do you literally do that or have that sense
(11:09):
of excitement that is part of the back to school
experience when you don't even know where to find your
clothes because there's no light for you to get dressed,
and there's no breakfast that's being served. I understand the
reality in terms of because we have a large contingent
of kids that depend on the free breakfast and lunch
(11:31):
programs to make sure that they get their nutritional needs met.
But I'm really concerned is there is some sort of
concerted effort to deal with the emotional trauma in terms
of trying to have a kid go back to school
when there's no power when they sleep and everything's dark.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Absolutely, I do know that the counselors, the guidance counselors,
and social workers are already working on a plan.
Speaker 11 (12:01):
I know that they have been meeting.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
To talk about the social emotional impact that this has
had on the children and their families, and so they are.
And in terms of clothing, we have several nonprofits and
other agencies that have clothing. Our local Calumet Trustees office
and others have clothing that they're going to be providing
(12:27):
that they have on hand for the children to be
able to.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Get.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You know, they're giving those out free of charge. So
let me just say this, this is.
Speaker 11 (12:40):
New for us. We have never experienced.
Speaker 12 (12:43):
Anything like this.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
But I want you to know that everyone is looking
at all of those areas that you just spoke about.
And we also have our Community Health Net and we
have Edgewater Services which is our local agency that also
assist us with the psychological and social impact of this.
(13:05):
So we will be meeting with doctor Dunita Johnson Hughes
and doctor Janet Sebrook, who is our Health Commissioner, who
will be leading those efforts to help us with the
social and emotional impact that this is having on our
children and our families.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
And finally Chief Tillman in terms of what kind of
kind of recompense is going to occur with regard to
the people that have lost all of the food as
well as property damage. What has the governor said what?
And of course doctor McNairy alluded to this. What is
(13:49):
the federal.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Government doing in an effort with regard to FEMA.
Speaker 7 (13:55):
So the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has already opened
up the portal for grants for disaster relief for individuals
who have lost or had damage to their home where
they can go in and apply for an existing five
(14:16):
thousand dollars grant. The calculations for FEMA are still going
in from each municipality to make sure that we meet
the threshold for disaster relief.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I'm pretty sure that we're.
Speaker 7 (14:31):
Already there with our preliminary numbers, but those were just
back of the Napkin numbers that we turned in on Friday.
We have to make sure that we track everything going
forward with regards to ours worked, all of the equipment
that has been used, all of the contractors that have
(14:51):
come in, all of the things that were lost and
damaged throughout the city, and so that's going to take
some time. This is not going to be something that's
going to be over in a couple of months.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
It will take.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
Probably over a year or more to recover everything that
is happening to the city and to get the infrastructure
in place.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I do want to speak to.
Speaker 7 (15:18):
The emotional uh uh gate of the children. We did
bring in e a p for the city employees already,
and we had counselor talk to the employees of the
city individuals that were in the shelter, So we have
(15:40):
already started that portion. I know the concern is the
school and I know I know that Superintendent Stokes is
going to most likely.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Be doing the same thing there.
Speaker 7 (15:51):
She has been very supportive of the effort by giving
the food that were that was in the schools to
the shelter in order to cook during that time because
there was no power in the schools, so they first
have to replenish the food that they already lost for
the beginning of the school year. They were at a
(16:15):
community event last week where they spoke with Nipskoe and
they did They handed the representatives from Nipscow a list
of the schools to prioritize to Doctor's point about getting
the schools open quickly. So those efforts are already in
(16:36):
place where they're trying to get the schools back open
and they're trying to work on the emotional status of
our community to make sure that we're mentally in a
good place.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
You know, listen, we wish nothing but the best for you.
We want to thank doctor Vanessa Allen McLeod as well
as Chief Larry Tillman the Second for joining us this
morning and if there's anything that we can do to help,
please let us know come.
Speaker 10 (17:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Coming up next we're going to do You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Coming up next, we're going to discuss the other top
news stories of the week, from the potential renaming of
a of an aircraft carrier that was named after a
Black World War two hero to possibly being named after
President Trump in an unprecedented move move, as well as
we're going to talk about the start of Chicago public schools.
(17:30):
Call us right now at eight three three five nine
one V one O three.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
What's your thoughts? We'll be right back.
Speaker 13 (17:37):
Chicago Speaks with Daryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now toll free at eight three three five nine
one V one O three. Now back to Chicago Speaks
with Daryl Denard. Share what's on your mind? Toll free
at eight three three five nine to one V one
out three.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
And welcome back.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Time. Check for you right now is I've been twenty
and we are engaged in a discussion of the top
news stories of the week. We talked about the situation
and Gary. We want to get to at least a
couple of callers there that have called in to give
us a first hand reality in terms of what they're experiencing.
We're going to hear first from first time caller Crystal.
(18:18):
She's calling from the great City of Gary, Indiana. Crystal,
your own Chicago speaks. Thanks for being the first time caller.
You're comment to question.
Speaker 14 (18:27):
More of a comment, just explaining to people who are
what we're really going through.
Speaker 10 (18:34):
For me, I'm one day twelve no power, elderly parents
that I'm taking care of. My street has elderly people
where I have to see.
Speaker 14 (18:44):
About just making sure they have food and things like that.
But for to be twelve days and no power, it's crazy.
We sit with a tree with a light whole lifted
up the way. They can't move the tree because the
lighthole g and the right We haven't even came and
looked at.
Speaker 10 (19:00):
It, but even came and look at it. Then I
understand it takes time, it takes surveys. But if I
look on the next street and I'm looking at nipsical
trucks on the next street, and no one's came on
that street to even look to see that damage to
where that is important everybody, it's like really sad. Appreciates
(19:21):
because I also worked for the school system, then I
do have worked for two weeks. My savings is depleted
just to take care of me and my parents. It's
only child, as will so oh this is swallowing on me.
So yeah, as far as a mental the last couple
of days, Dad started to take that toll You can't
(19:44):
get in the line because the lines are so cool.
We can't even get grives to get food.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Jim, I know you had a quick question.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
M Yeah, okay, Well Crystal, just hang in there and
know that I know it sounds cliche, but help is
on the way and if you can just hold out
just a little bit longer, I'm I'm sure that things
are going to get better, or we hope that things
get better for you. Okay, and thanks for being the
(20:21):
first time. Please make sure.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
It's not your life. I know it is.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Indeed it is it is, But please be encouraged because
there are a lot of people that there, and I
think that I know the churches there are trying to
do their best. This is a time when it really
takes a village to care for those.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
That are impacted in the village.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So be encouraged there and if there's anything that we
can my heart radio please let us know. I want
to go also to Paul right now Paul is calling
all so from the city of Gary, Indiana. Paul, thanks
for your patience. You're coming to question this morning.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Thank good morning there. How you doing that?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
We're good?
Speaker 9 (21:10):
Man?
Speaker 3 (21:10):
How are you going?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I haven't yeah, man, I was going to wonder Jet
how you was going to greet me. Man, it's been
five years since I talked to you. I know, I
talk to you, wow twenty right in twenty one, eighteen days.
I was going to find you on anniversary. I'd have
been September the eleventh. But this is a catastrophic thing
that came about. So I called you a little earlier.
(21:33):
You know, uh, you know, I also reside up in
Grand View, but you know, Gary is my home and
I have my people, you know, and Gary. And one
of the things I want to say, man, you know,
you know I told you about the eCos, how it
was going to change things, and it didn't change things
because of the shortage of housing. And you be, I've
(21:53):
been listening to you, man for like fifteen years or
more over fifteen years.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 9 (21:59):
And you know I.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Warned you guys about you know, what was you know
was going to happen as far as immigration and how
it's going to change housing. And then we had a
lot of bad actors that came in from the city. Man,
they swooped in. I got a cousin that lives in Gary.
He calls one of the local radio stations and he
tells them about the housing cartel that has involved themselves
from Chicago. Not the drug cartail. See we had to
(22:23):
drug cartaeil. They did a whami on Gary. But hey, man,
back to this about this man, Geary wasn't ready for
prime time. Man, it wasn't you know, you know, the
the climate change and came about it and shifted from
Kansas and Oklahoma and we right in the bull's eye
right about now. And so you know Nisco, you know,
(22:44):
they just came off of strike, and Nipsco came off
of strike and a lot of workers they moved on
and they were running kind of shorter men. Nipsco were
doing a fabulous job. Man, they have been doing a
fabulous job of what they was up against. Those trees
they do pull them back, you know, you call them,
you know, we call them. And I got pictures, man,
(23:05):
I was gonna post man, they come out, guy take
a picture. He take them back. To the headquarters, they
come out and term the trees. They were dealing with
a lot of older vegetation, but that vegitation wasn't touching
those lines, and that's why they don't cut them. A
lot of the trees they were posted up on private
property too, man. And when they posted up on private property,
they cast a lot of money. Gets some trees. It
(23:26):
cast about fourteen seventeen hundred dollars sometimes you know South
Fork three thousand dollars. But uh, you know, I mean
they'll you know, it's been a while, man since we talked. Yeah,
you know, I wasn't gonna call because but I love you,
you know, and I love the people and Garrett. I
just want to tell them, you know, just you know,
(23:47):
things may get better and things may not get better,
you know, as soon as we think it's going to
get better. But what I can tell them, I told
them that gar wasn't going to be ready for this.
You know, they got a school ROLEVELT. They got a school,
uh you know, uh the Genesee Center a closed down.
Then the other school I was going to say, or
(24:09):
West Side School. They didn't have anything in place, you know,
for such a catastrophic situation like this, it's going to
be other things to come.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Man.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
This is just the doctors before the day. So hey,
darn man, I thank you for taking my call. Man,
I wanted to say more, but I know you got
to rush through this. But I want to say this
about that ship. You know, that's that's that's going to
be renamed maybe and uh, you know it shouldn't be
renamed because that family, you know, was promised that their
relative was gonna, you know, get.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Jilled, promise that you had President Trump. Literally, you have
President Trump literally extolling the heroic efforts of Doris Dorry
Miller and saying and then he jokingly offhand during that
same statement, he said, yeah, I would love to have
a UH aircraft carryer named after me.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Literally that was in nineteen that was in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
He was president at the time, right, And well, you know,
you know it's sad, well, you know, it's just something
in terms of the impact of the family there. But
I thank you, Paul, and I appreciate your faithfulness there, man,
and also that you still listen to my brother want
to quickly go to Alfred because he also has a
quick comment. Appreciate you brother. Moving on to Alfred. Right now,
(25:29):
Alfred h you had a comment that was kind of interesting.
Tell me about it, Alfred, go ahead, Well.
Speaker 9 (25:37):
The National Guard should have been Timmy and Gary and him.
That's bad leadership from the top. You started, the government's
the government, the mayor. They be inmployed that national Guards. Interesting,
you wouldn't be talking about this today, you wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
We haven't a former I hate we have a former
officer for the Illinois National Guard. In terms of doctor
Jerald McNair your reflections on what Alfred just talked about.
Speaker 11 (26:09):
That's a good point. I mean, that's a very good point.
I haven't heard anyone speak to that. The question is
why weren't they deployed. That's a very good point, Albert.
I know the National Guard has been politicized in a
lot of states. In fact, there was a shooting one
of the NIPSCO trucks were shot at, and so you
talk talk about Biden. That wasn't widespread, So I don't
(26:29):
want to overstate it, but there was a shooting which
would lead one to believe that perhaps the National Guard
could have been deployed. But that's an outstanding point. But
I think I would argue that they didn't want to
make it look like this as a police response. I
think this is more of a soft approach. This is
more of making sure our citizens because we have to
(26:50):
remind you this wasn't just an issue that was limited
to Gary. I have teachers who not Monster, I mean Monster, all.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Of north West Indiana.
Speaker 11 (27:02):
West three Northwest Indiana as a whole. But I don't
think they wanted to use a sledgehammer for this response.
Why do kind of see them not airing on the
side of law and order, but more of a more
soft approach.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Okay, hey, Alfred, I appreciate you man, continue to listen.
I want to shift gears and talk about this incident
with the potential renaming of the aircraft carrier that was
supposed to be named for the heroic efforts of Private
Dorry Miller, and now what's happening is that there is
(27:36):
a distinct possibility that it may be renamed after President Trump.
The extraordinary situation here her mean is that this will
be the first time that a vessel, a major vessel,
military vessel, would be named after a sitting president.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
This is a sad reality.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
The West Virginia native has a whole plat named after
him in West Virginia.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
But go ahead for me.
Speaker 6 (28:03):
I don't know all of the rules of naming the
ship is to go through Congress and what committee it
goes through and so forth, But this is insanity. Trump
has never even worn a uniform, an army, Navy military uniform,
so he's out of it completely. This man is so
(28:26):
insane and so preposterous of having his name on anything
and everything until it's just ridiculous. It's insanity. It sounds
like a Saturday Night Live skit. Dorian Miller was a hero.
He should be recognized as a hero. And the other
lane that this falls into is Trump just trying to
(28:48):
name everything after himself, but also the erasure of blackness
in America. This is as American as you possibly can
get at. And this man should have the recognition that
he deserves. And Trump should go sit down somewhere.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And I'm like I.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
Said, I don't know the I don't know if this
goes through Congress or whatever. I don't know. Most most
of the times when you're naming.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Something, he is the commander. He is the commander in chief,
but he is a command Is.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
That that is that That's why I said it's unprecedented.
And really, before we hear from Jim, I want to
bring doctor McNair, having served our country for at least
ten years in the National Guard.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Yes, this is a true hero. Matter of facturer.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
He was depicted in the movie, in the movie Pearl
Harbor by j J.
Speaker 8 (29:46):
That's right.
Speaker 11 (29:47):
Uh, And I mean to your point, generally it's done posthumously,
and it's done through legislative actions. Now through executive order,
President can he can, but Julius in poor taste and
so all of the normal what we call quote unquote
normal ways of how we uh things are governed. You know,
Trump has more or less turned that on his head.
(30:09):
But this is very difficult for the family. It's very
difficult for black soldiers. This sin is a very bad
You talk about morale amongst black soldiers. I happen to
know a few black soldiers who are still serving. The
morale in some pockets it's very low. This just causes
even more dissension or more dissonance amongst troops. This is
a black hero World War two.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Uh.
Speaker 11 (30:29):
He wasn't even supposed to be in that particular fight.
But because he has honor, his his valor. He took
that fight and uh, he was awarded. So to take
this back, it just it shows you how we're not
only erasing black history, but how we're looking at black
soldiers and we're looking at looking at them as expendable
(30:52):
and it's it's it's uh. But the impact it has
on troops right now is the question. Hawsop says something.
Who's the senator and the Senator Hawsoff and George just
said something that was very striking. He Hawsoff says, I'm
very striking. He called Trump a crooked draft dodger. Now
(31:13):
I think he might have overstated it, but the fact that,
as Hormen's point, he has never worn the uniform and
in some aspects he perhaps dodged the draft for him
to take this stance. But we're the Republicans. They have
to speak out on this and this can be stopped
or we need Republicans to fight and move this in
another direction.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
I want you to handle this, Jim, from a different
kind of perspective, because here it is you throw this
in the mix. We still get the Epstein filed, but
you throw this in the mix, and then you also
throw in the fact that our closest ally and neighbor
that we share an incredible warder with is now engaged,
(31:57):
according to the Prime Minister, a war with its.
Speaker 15 (32:01):
Closest ally over these tariffs. I thought as well as
this fit into the mix in terms of this reality.
But first let me hear from Jim. I mean, then
you can comment. First, Jim gun Jim.
Speaker 8 (32:13):
It's just the latest salvo of ridiculousness coming out of
this administration, and in this particular case, I just want
to add a little bit of context about Petty Officer Miller.
He was assigned as a cook and during the attack
on Pearl Harbor, he carried other soldiers wounded soldiers to safety,
and he also, with no training on the gun, took
(32:35):
control of an anti aircraft gun and shot down two
attacking planes. He survived Pearl Harbor but continued to serve
and was later killed in action in a battle in
the Pacific. Meanwhile, President Trump got five deferments during the
Vietnam War, and, as Ms. Hartman said, did not serve
this country in a military capacity. So you know, it's
(32:56):
it's the latest. And also another piece of this litany
is that this is also happening while sailors aboard the
USS Lincoln are going in squalid conditions, not having fresh
food and all of this. Part of the reason, part
of the reason for that is because the Secretary of Defense,
Pete Hexat, covered up the fact that they base that
supplies that ship was hit by missiles from Iran in
(33:20):
a war of choice by this administration that they are
unable to get out of and losing. And and so
you know, the the idea that at this moment in time,
the president would choose to attempt to do this kind
of you know, yet another racist action to aggrandize his
own legacy. And you know, as miss Hartin said, put
(33:41):
his name on something just to do it. Really it's
it's his own ego and racism behind this. And and
also just say, you know, with regard to the erasure
of specifically Petty Officer Miller's history, you know, he was
he was awarded the Navy Cross, which is the second
highest honor you can get. That's right, serves, it's after
(34:01):
the Medal of Honor, and he was denied the Medal
of Honor because of racism in what was then called
the Department of War. The Secretary of War didn't believe
that black serviceman should serve, and so his family's been
fighting for that recognition for decades and to have this
dishonor placed on him by the current president, it's a
shame in and outrage.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Outrage. Yeah, and we want to say that this hasn't
been official yet, but there is of course the possibility
of it happening. I want to shift gears right now. Tomorrow,
more than three hundred thousand students from grades from grades
K through high school will head back to school in Chicago.
CPS has a special site devoted to everything back to
(34:44):
school and it's located at CPS dot edu.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Now, if you would like.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
To speak to somebody for family support, CPS also has
a community engagement hotline. That number is seven seven to
three five five three base once again, seven seventy three
five five three facee. As we get ready to close
out here, you got about a minute, and I'd like
(35:11):
to tap your wonderful expertise as a school administrator, Doctor McNair,
what advice do you have for kids going.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Back to school as well as their caregivers? Attendance is important.
Speaker 11 (35:24):
Forty two percent of African American students are still viewed
as chronically absent in the state of Illinois.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
We've got to do better. That's right.
Speaker 11 (35:36):
In the state of Illinois have viewed us chronically absent.
What that means is they're missing ten percent of the
school days, so essentially school essentially it's one hundred and
eighty days in a school year. Missing ten percent is
at minimum eighteen days. We have teachers, administrators, they are
ready to teach and pour so much into the kids,
but you can't teach them if they're not there. So
(35:56):
this first day of school start off, well, let's get
these kids.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
In school, first week, first month.
Speaker 11 (36:04):
It's this every day, but forty percent of African American
kids chronically absent. That is a crisis and that is
something that our legislatures need to need to address. We
need to put the necessary support around us so we
can improve that data. And when you do that, you
will see the educational gap decrease.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Gone are the days of the truant officers where people
would literally knock on your door and say where is
your child and why isn't that child in school? Well,
we want to thank doctor Jerol McNair, Hermine Hartman, as
well as Jim Daily for joining us and providing us
with their wonderful expertise. Coming up on the other side
of the break, we're going to tell you about the
(36:46):
wonderful Black and Bronze Festival that's taking place where else
but Bronsville. You're listening to Chicago Speaks, please stay with us.
Speaker 13 (36:56):
Chicago Speaks with Darryl Denard. You can voice your opinion
right now, toll free at eight three three five nine
to one V.
Speaker 14 (37:04):
One O three.
Speaker 13 (37:06):
Now back to Chicago Speaks with Darryl Dinard, Share what's
on your mind, toll free at eight three three five
nine to one V one O three.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
There was a time when Chicago's Bronxville section was one
of the black music capitalists of the nation. Next week,
Chicago's Armstrong Park will be the place to be for music, food,
fun and information with Black and Bronze, a Bronxville music festival.
Joining me this morning to talk about everything that's available
(37:38):
there is Pavio Goldman. She is head of PR and
media influencer relations for the Black and Bronx Festival. Pavio,
how are you doing?
Speaker 12 (37:48):
I am thriving. Thank you so much for having me
on today.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Darryl, I'm we talk with you.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
It is a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Also on this side, we really want to inform people
about things that are happening in our neighborhoods, and this
sounds like a must attend event. What was the reason
for creating the festival.
Speaker 12 (38:09):
Yeah, so the festival was founded out of our urgent
need to document and expand the narrative around Bronzeville, around Chicago,
and especially Black Chicago. And we have taken that call very,
(38:32):
very seriously. We want to bring a lot of joy
and delight to our communities and make sure that our
stories are being told in a way that expands the
narrative in a really positive way.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Now, we want to tell people that Armstrong Park is
located in the heart of Bronzeville at forty four to
thirty three South St. Lawrence Avenue, and the festival has
taking place next Saturday from one to seven pm. I
love the fact that you divided the festival into parts
commemorating Bronzeville legends like Ida b Wells and Sam Cook.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Talk about that.
Speaker 12 (39:10):
Yes, yes, we have several different areas of the park.
One of the areas that we're super excited for people
to experience is the I to Be Well courts.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
She's a journalist.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
She's going to be upset that you took the S
off of her name.
Speaker 8 (39:27):
There.
Speaker 12 (39:29):
Yeah, yeah, for the wordplay, we had to make some
creative decisions. But this is a section of the festival
that will be completely dedicated to wellness. We will have yoga,
we'll have pilates, and three on three basketball tournaments and
(39:51):
duck dunk contests all happening throughout the day. And then
we also have our Sam cook Food Court and us
Sam Cook Off between our hot food vendors where there
is the opportunity to win five hundred dollars.
Speaker 4 (40:08):
Now that sounds exciting.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Give me some more details on that, because everybody or
many families at least have one would be chef, if
not a real chef.
Speaker 12 (40:18):
Oh yes, So the Sam Cookoff is really focused on
elevating the hot food vendors that we have partnered with
in the park. So one of them is Irey Parker
who makes delicious gourmet pizza puffs, a very Chicago food tradition,
(40:39):
and these vendors are hot food vendors will be competing
amongst themselves for the five hundred dollars price.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
Wow, and one of the major components of this entire
festival is its music. And I mentioned at the top
of the program that literally Bronzeville was the music hub
and showcase of America's major black talent.
Speaker 12 (41:06):
Yes, yes, Bronsville has given Chicago and the world so
much from jazz, gospel, R and B, and then across literature, entrepreneurship,
the whole range of cultural legacy, and Bronsville has nurtured
folks like Louis Armstrong, not King Cole, and the festival
(41:27):
in our programming reflects that with a lot of intention,
we have four different genres of music that will be
highlighted during Black and brons Fest this coming Saturday.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
I'm sorry, I said, give me the schedule.
Speaker 12 (41:42):
Yes, So we will have a jazz segment, We'll have
a gospel, there's a soul segment, and then we close
out the day with a hip hop segment. And each
segment will be incorporating music from our musical pioneers while
(42:04):
also infusing brand new music that these independent artists have
created themselves.
Speaker 4 (42:10):
Who are some of the artists.
Speaker 12 (42:13):
So our founder of the festival, Jessica Larell Anderson is
hot is headlining the soul segment. She's an incredible independent
artist with multiple albums out and has toured with huge
names like the Sunday Service Choir. And we are also
(42:36):
going to have a wonderful artist named v Armstrong performing
with us our jazz artists. Is an up and coming
woman in the industry. She's performing all over the city
and everyone is so so so talented.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Capital raised and the money exchanged here also helped benefit
the community househo.
Speaker 12 (43:04):
Yes, yes, So. We have founded a nonprofit called Ken
forty three and that is the organization that is putting
on the festival. All funds, whether that's ticket purchases or
just direct donations to the festival, will be funneled into
(43:26):
Ken forty three and we are working to invest in
independent artists, putting on programming, investing in their artists development.
We are also partnering with organizations throughout the community to
elevate wellness and investing our dollars back into our community
(43:48):
through small business investment as well.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Now we know that this is the second to annual
Black and Bronze Festival, what were you able to learn
from the first time it occurred.
Speaker 12 (44:01):
We had so many learnings from last year's festival. It
was an incredible day that raised so much revenue for
our black business owners. We generated over sixty thousand dollars
of revenue for our small businesses and makers in the park,
and we're expanding the opportunity to even more vendors this year.
(44:23):
We have also added directional signage to the park because
it is a large park and we want people to
be able to find their way to the different areas
and activations with ease. Additionally, we have moved our just
made it more convenience to access all of the different activations,
(44:44):
so made our food court a little bit more accessible,
and we've partnered with more even more community organizations.
Speaker 6 (44:54):
This year.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
And one thing I love about Bronzeville is that it's
still maintains its authenticity in many respects. So many times
with gentrification there tends to be a kind of just
kind of a rature of the culture that existed before.
But that's really not the case here with regard to Bronsville.
Speaker 12 (45:19):
Yes, that is one of the beautiful things about Bronsville, indeed,
and it's all because of the people, people like the
folks putting on black and bronze vest who really invest
in preserving and expanding the legacy of this neighborhood. We
(45:41):
do this work with a lot of intention and a
lot of heart. We are regular people who live in
this community and just want to see our history preserved
and our legacy expanded.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
So give us how we can find out further information
about everything that's going to happen in Armstrong Park next Saturday.
Speaker 12 (46:04):
Yes, Black and Bronze Fest is everywhere you are on
the Internet. You can find us at Blackanbronsfest dot com.
You'll be able to find us across social media. That's
your Facebook, your Instagram, your TikTok all at Black and
Bronze Fest, and you can find us in the park
(46:27):
at arms Park this Saturday, next Saturday, August twenty ninth,
from one to seven pm. That is forty four to
thirty three South St. Lawrence Avenue.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
Yeah, that is definitely going to be the place to
be in considering the fact that you got yoga impilates.
I don't know if I'm gonna do both, but I'll
definitely try to do one also and stay for the
music as well as the food.
Speaker 12 (46:54):
Yes, it's gonna be a great time. I cannot wait
to see you out there.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
That sounds good.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
Well Radio here in Chicago, we are proud to be
a sponsor of Black and Bronze, the Black and Bronze Festival, Pavia.
We want to thank you so much for joining us
this morning.
Speaker 12 (47:11):
Thank you so much for having me, Darryl. It was
a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Well.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
That wraps up this edition of Chicago Speaks. As always,
I want to thank my guests, but most importantly you
the listeners and callers into this program. If you desire
news on a twenty four to seven basis, it's always
available with our assister station with the Black Information Network
at AM six forty right now and get ready to
get your praise on with Sonya Blaky.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
I'm Darryl den Art. We'll see you back.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Here next Sunday, beginning at six am for another edition
of Chicago Speaks.
Speaker 4 (47:41):
Please be sure to take care of yourself.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.