Last September, when Sharpton made his Chicago pledge, I thought just maybe he was turning the corner, moving beyond just blaming brutal police for the problems of young black men. Move there and lead a crusade within the community? This is gutsy, I thought, and will require a lot of heavy lifting by The Rev. The murder rate in Chicago is about four times the rate here in New York City — and in both towns, the victims are mostly minorities. Going into the holiday weekend, the Windy City has already seen 282 homicides this year, 241 from guns; with about three times the population, we’d had “just” 185.
Remember, the president and first lady, with continued trips back to their home town, have failed to make any progress on this front. Attorney General Eric Holder’s efforts have brought no reduction in this violence. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who lives in Chicago, has failed to stem the endless executions of young black males by other young black males there. Louis Farrakhan and the Southside-based Nation of Islam have failed to stem the flow of blood.
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