Chicago Speaker/Author Nate Gray on Chicago Violence
Hello Chicago and the world! I’m Nate Gray speaker and author of From Him to Us and forthcoming title, A Winning Perspective.
My Winning Perspective message is to inspire the youth to
tap into their potential, build more dreams and positivity, and also help the
masses to have positive mindsets when facing adversity.
With regards to the overall violence in Chicago and the 82
shootings in 84 hours over the 2014 July 4th weekend, and more
killings since, Chicagoans are enraged as the stories are highlighted and
repeated through the media.
While we are saturated with the bad news constantly, I’d
like to focus on the positivity we are doing in the communities and focus on
what more we can do to help our upcoming youth live to achieve their dreams. This
is why I have recently created a program that begins this summer through the
fall season of the 2014-2015 school year to impact 100,000 youth lives. Connect
with me on Facebook and Twitter @nategrayzone as details come.
What can we realistically do to help this problem we have in
Chicago?
I applaud all of the great efforts that are being done in
our city right now such as those of Pastor Corey Brooks Project Hood, the launch
of new radio show in April 2014, “Good in Englewood", and the Englewood UrbanGarden and Farm Development, along with all the kids I see in my family and
throughout Chicago that I’ve just watched graduate from grade school and high school
along with those pursuing college and their dreams and talents.
I once stated there is nothing we can do to stop the
violence in our city because it has been this way for decades, but in
discussing it with my fiance, I have learned to change my perspective on how to
help the community.
Although everything can’t be 100% resolved, a few things I’ve
thought we can do in the city of Chicago is to increase police presence in a
24/7 shift rotation to “post up” on the blocks throughout the entire city.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke regarding the violence in Chicago over the holiday
weekend and asked, “Where were the police?”
Our mayor has created more jobs for Chicago Police Officers
since taking the seat of mayor, but the police officers are not where they need
to be. They are harassing innocent people and most of the time, the police
doesn’t show up to the scene until after the fact for investigations. If they
are posted on the blocks, while other officers are on normal patrol, I think
that will help to deter violence when there is police presence in an area
outside on the streets where a person is about to commit a crime.
Two women were attacked on a bike route on the 500 block of
North Lake Shore Drive by a man with a hammer on 7/8/2014 just before 6:30
pm. Do you think police presence would
have helped avoid this situation?
Another effort we can do is to help the upcoming youth to
deter them from taking negative paths in life
Some acts of violence maybe isolated incidents as well such
as people with personal issues amongst each other and choose to resolve it with
violence. In instances where an innocent person might be attacked by someone,
perhaps the concealed carry law will help people protect themselves in absolute
necessary situations. Although the government is posing strict and tough gun
laws as they state including background checks for gun purchases, this doesn’t
resolve the issue of the illegal guns that are on the street now.
Chicago is a city of dreams! Motivational speaker Les Brown
said in a visit to Chicago in September 2010, “Chicago, a city where legends
are made.”
People committing these crimes have to take responsibility
themselves to put the guns down and stop the violence. That is a big part of
the issue we have, but of all suggestions aforementioned, we can start by
producing more positivity in the communities, and petition for effective police
security.
Facebook: NateGrayZone
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