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Job Concerns Sparks March Down Western Avenue
Spearheaded by a famed Chicago businessman, the march was meant to bring attention to a lack of jobs for blacks in the labor force.
About one thousand marchers shut down Western Avenue Sunday afternoon in an effort to bring attention to what they see as a serious lack of opportunity for black contractors and laborers. The peaceful display was largely jump started by Ed Gardner, 87, a retired Chicago businessman who made millions as the founder of Soft Sheen Hair products. He noticed a lack of black workers in area construction crews and decided it was time to take a stand. Starting at 95th Street and heading north down Western Avenue the street was closed off as the protesters made their way past the currently under-construction retail development which will include a Meijer and Menards. The protests first started last week and organizers said the issue was one that …
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John Madison
3:28 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012
As a 45-year old college educated, white male and former resident of Chicago now living and teaching in Ann Arbor, MI, my travels throughout the world first as a military officer and than as a professor, caused me to drastically shift my racialized views. Many, not all of us priviledge whites actually believe the "work hard and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps B.S.". First, lets be clear, … more ›