60620

The title of this blog is the zip code I grew up in. My family has resided in that zip code for over 50 years. During the time I was there, 60620, primarily the Auburn-Gresham community, was a working class African-American neighborhood with a myriad of thriving businesses. 

It was the initial home of Operation Breadbasket (now Operation P. U. S. H. ) and The Final Call newspaper. Off and on, the Capitol Theater entertained us, whether it was the Ali-Foreman fight or "Enter the Dragon". We would shop at Franks or Walgreens, get our field trip hoagie sandwiches from Taurus Flavors and have our Little League parade down 79th Street.

The grown folks had places like the Sandpiper Lounge to entertain themselves, when they weren't taking care of us or working and we had choices for haircuts, check cashing, church and even funeral services.

We always believed in our little part of Chicago that we were relatively safe, unlike the West Side or further south. Obviously that is no longer the case. I recently read an article that stated the zip code I grew up, thrived in, developed friendships in, is now the most dangerous zip code in America. In the 32 years I have been away from my former home, something dramatically has gone wrong.

St. Sabina Catholic Church was an institution in that community and continues to be under the stewardship of the dynamic and controversial Father Michael Pfleger. The church, under his leadership, has become a symbol of defiance toward the violence that has permeated this beloved community, and those in leadership, who have not done enough to curb it, including the previous Cardinals of the diocese. Because of this defiant spirit, St. Sabina has also become a beacon of hope for many of the constituents of 60620 during these perilous times.

The alderman that currently represents that area is David Moore, who I only know through Facebook and news clippings. He grew up in the Englewood community and attended Simeon Academy, just like one of the city's current sports heroes. Based on what I have read, and the fact he was re-elected recently, I'm prone to believe Alderman Moore is in tune with the pulse of the community and he is eager to do his part to stem the tide. I'm too personally disengaged to determine whether he has the capacity to do it, but as someone with working knowledge as to the level of   responsibility public service demands, I will give him the positive benefit and not doubt it. 

These two individuals have now developed a conflict over the church holding a block party. Sounds trivial but the backstory is fascinating.

Spike Lee has come to my home zip code to do a documentary about the escalated violence there. The working title is "Chiraq", a moniker created by the local media to sensationalize the crisis that has unfolded.

As expected, Father Pfleger has become a central figure in this documentary. Therefore the aforementioned block party was going to be a part of the film. Alderman Moore refused to issue the permit for the block party because he, and several other constituents, objected to the working title of the documentary.

Pfleger supporters are calling Moore a sellout and Moore supporters are calling Pfleger a shameless opportunist. What I see are two men who are proud of this community. One wants to bring attention to the crisis and instill hope. One wants to regain the positive tradition of the community and protect it from being further besmirched.

Meanwhile, people are still dying and suffering. A once thriving community is in a full fledged crisis. And the people are craving leadership that leads to solutions.

Whether the block party is held or not won't solve the problem. The documentary itself won't solve the problem. Most importantly, a feud between leaders in that community won't solve the problem.

It will take a strategy that will involve many partners, religious and secular, private and public, to eradicate the genocide, improve educational and economic opportunities and uplift a once proud community back to its rightful place. Neither Pfleger or Moore can bring those partnerships to bear single handedly. They must work together. 

Then maybe 60620 will return to the days I remember, where children were safe, hopeful, and eager to make a world even better than that they had experienced. Now that would be worth having a party about.