Pfleger Holds Silent “Peace Walk” Stops to Pray for Slain Gang Leader and Dozens of Murdered Youth

“King would be outraged over the killing”

By Chinta Strausberg

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and on his 86th birthday, Father Michael L. Pfleger held a silent “Peace Walk” in the Auburn Gresham community stopping at several places to pray for peace including at the site of slain “Cartoon,” a former gang leader who had turned his life around, and at the Saint Sabina Memorial Wall to honor dozens of slain children.

Before the march, Pfleger met with dozens of supporters in McMahon Hall where he explained they would stop at two sites including where 26-year-old Philip “Cartoon” Dupree was slain in a drive-by shooting and his 62-year-old grandmother who is recovering from her wounds, and at 79th and Marshall where Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16th) prayed for peace.

Displaying a large picture of Dr. King in the background, Father Pfleger held a press conference in front of the Saint Sabina Rectory where two blue lights shined brightly symbolic of his fifth annual Blue Lights for Peace and Justice” campaign that has been adopted by the city of Chicago.

He thanked the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA) for once again agreeing to light up downtown buildings in blue in memory of Dr. King’s fight for peace and justice. Pfleger said the color blue was designated by the United Nations as symbol of peace.

Pfleger told reporters, “We remember Dr. King was not only the call for justice but he was also a call for non-violence. Everybody says if Dr. King were alive he would be doing this…, (but) I don’t know what Dr. King would be saying…. I’ve got to believe that he would be both outraged and he would be in tears about the violence that runs rampant in America today.

“America seems to have become normal with violence today, and we can never let this be normal and that is violence whether it’s done by a corrupt cop or done by somebody in the neighborhood,” said Pfleger.

“Anybody who kills in the city ought to be locked up whether they’re in the neighborhood or in the police department. Nobody has the right to have our communities under seize and have our people live in fear. It is not acceptable,” he said.

Calling the roll, Pfleger said as of this moment “we had 24 killed and 129 shot and wounded since January 1st. That is more of last January of 2015. We are 15-days into the month, and we’ve already surpassed the entire month of 2015. That is not acceptable.

“We condemn the violence whether it is by cops or somebody on the street. We condemn the violence…. We call on everybody to be peacemakers…. Peace doesn’t just happen. You got to make it happen…,” he said. “

“We call to regain the values that we must obviously lost and to demand the resources our communities need.”

Referring to King’s 1967 last book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,” Pfleger said, “He said we need a revolution of our values, and we need a redistribution of our wealth. That’s what we need. We need new values where we don’t kill each other, and we need a redistribution of our wealth where we will get the jobs, the economic opportunities, the economic development and our communities don’t look like Third World countries.”

Pfleger said he is “tired of when something happens on the North Side of this city…somebody gets on the news and says, ‘Things like this never happen in our neighborhood’ like it is OK to happen in somebody else’s neighborhood. It’s not OK anywhere, and it’s not allowed anywhere. We want it to stop everywhere.”

In honor of Dr. King, his mentor, Pfleger said, “We call for the values…for redistribution of the wealth and for peace.”

Representing Purpose Over Pain, Annette Nance-Holt, he mother of slain Blair Holt, 17, who on May 10, 2007 was killed aboard a CTA bus, said, “There are too many young people being killed in our community. There are too many silent people not telling what is going on in our communities. It is not normal for parents to bury their children.”

“There are too many mothers and fathers and families joining this unfortunate group that none of us chose to be a part of,” she said referring to the Purpose Over Pain organization. Nance-Holt said, “This wasn’t hat we anticipated for our children. They should be growing up…married…having children but instead they are in cemeteries….”

She asked people to do some civic work on Monday, January 18, 2016, which is the holiday for Dr. King.

Lamar Johnson, representing the Brave Youth Leaders at Saint Sabina, appealed to the youth to honor Dr. King. “I believe his voice is crying from the grave based on how we’re treating each other as peers. We want all of the killings to stop…put the guns down…. We have to value ourselves. As we’re outraged out police brutality as well as how police treat us, let’s also be outraged how we treat each other…. We want the world, the city to know that we will not tolerate killing each other. We want the rid the code of silence especially among young people.”

He reminded youth that February 16th is the deadline to be registered to vote. “If you’re 18-years this year, make sure you’re registered so we get the right people to represent us so we can try to end violence and make sure we’re doing the same thing in our schools, our neighborhoods and our homes,” said Johnson.

Led by a large picture of Dr. King and a sign saying Stop the Killing…Stop the guns…Stop the violence…Save our children,” Pfleger led scores of people down 79th Street to Marshfield at a mini-mall and at 79th and Laflin where Cartoon was killed and his grandmother wounded.

Stopping at the site where Cartoon was killed, Pfleger said, “Cartoon, I called your name out march after march when you were shooting and when you were calling. I call your name out because you are now the victim. Your life has been taken.”

He said no life should be taken. “It’s not an eye-for-a-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth. That is not the God I serve. He’s the God of love…of mercy…of judgment and the God of light. I pray that tonight for all those hurt by his killing will be convicted on the inside why they can’t be a part of it.

“I pray that their hearts be touched. I pray that their minds be changed. I pray that every young person and every adult take to the guns to solve problems or just express anger or rage, understand that we are not the creator of life nor are we allowed to be the takers of life.

“I pray that their hearts be changed…that his blood lies on this ground that we will get to a point where we would no longer want blood on any ground anywhere in the city not by the hands, black, white, brown or yellow, police or civilian. Nobody has a right to take life. God is the giver. God is the taker; so I pray for his soul to rest in peace. I pray for his family.

“I pray for his grandmother, mother that they be comforted and strengthen, and I pray for everyone who knew him now learn form his loss of life that we are never, ever to be the taker of each other’s life,” Pfleger said.

He ended the march at the Saint Sabina “Memorial Wall” that contains pictures of slain children including his own son, Jarvis Franklin, who was killed on May 30, 1998 not far from the church, Terrell Bosley, the son of Pamela and Tommie Bosley, killed on April 4, 2006, while unloading music equipment at a church, Blair Holt, killed on May 10, 2007 aboard a CTA bus, and dozens more.

Before ending the peace walk, Pam Bosley prayed for peace then they sang “Amazing Grace” and “We Shall Overcome.” “Happy birthday, Dr. King,” Pfleger said thanking his supporters for their participation in the peace walk.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.