Father Pfleger: ‘Seeds of love harvest miracles’ on 79th Street

The purpose of peace and star power continue

By Chinta Strausberg

 

The colors of their T-shirts could have mirrored a rainbow, but the strategy of having the four Auburn Gresham rival street organizations compete in Saint Sabina’s historic basketball tournament Saturday was to erase lines of demarcation, eliminate negative labels and images of violent youth and prove to the world that by planting seeds of love there can be a harvest of peace in the community.

After three games including a playoff, the red shirts one 36-13 and team members received their trophies—a far cry from the trophies of death and destruction they are accused of perpetrating in the community almost every day.

Referring to the Saint Sabina ARK’s gym at 7800 S. Racine, Pfleger told reporters,  “You walk in that gym and you see the passion, the excitement, see the smiles…. You see kids who used to shoot at each other playing ball with each other. You tell me anything is wrong with this. I’m in heaven right now.” Pfleger said his heart is saddened when he has to rush to a scene of a shooting where he tells the dying youth, “You are not alone.”

Saturday was truly a day of peace in the community, but it took a labor of love on the part of Father Pfleger to make his dream a reality and a great deal of belief in God to overcome the naysayers who told him to cancel the game.

According to the RedEye crime tracker, last week there were four days without a homicide; however, Chicago had 11 homicides in five days. Nine men, who ranged from 21 to 38, were fatally shot from September 12^th through last Monday.

Pained by the violence that has wreaked havoc in the Auburn Gresham community and taken so many young lives, Father Michael L. Pfleger decided to try something new—pure and simply love. He began holding weekly Friday night marches reaching out to the youth who initially ran when they saw him coming.

That didn’t stop Pfleger and his supporters. He began to offer them free social programs like GED, an opportunity to use his new music studio, and they began to sign up…60, 70 and more.

Pfleger began to hug them and to unashamedly tell them that he loved them and one night when he was accompanied by the NBA legendary Isiah Thomas he challenged them to accept a one-day peace basketball tournament. Father Pfleger even offered to pick up all four factions of that gang in different buses and to provide non-police security.

Saturday’s basketball game was the crop from those seeds when 28 players wearing white, black, red and blue peace T-shirts stunned hundreds of cheering adults an children as they watched these talented youth “balling for peace’ on Saint Sabina’s ARK court. It was an evening of non-violence, family fun, and it netted them a meal from Leona’s and some even got jobs. And, he kept his word about providing non-police security. Pfleger used the Nation of Islam’s Fruit of Islam (FOI). The youth were very respectful to the FOI.

“Today we proved that when we come together and show love and let our young brothers know we care, we can see miracles happen right before our eyes. Thanks to all the NBA players who believed in our kids and showed up and showed love,” said Father Pfleger.

He was referring to the professional football and basketball players who volunteered their time to work with the youth and who pledged to continue working on this mission to bring peace in the community.

Pfleger thanked: Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah, Orlando’s Quentin Richardson, whose brother, Cedric, attends Saint Sabina, Chicago Bears Derrick Rose, Chicago Bears J’Marcus Webb, Chicago Bulls star Taj Gibson, L.A. Clipper’s Bobby Simmons, Memphis Grizzlies Zach Randolph, Chicago’s Simeon’s Jabari Parker and especially those who helped him organized Saturday’s event, Asa “Duce” Powell, owner of the 5×2.org promotions and marketing company and Kobe Williams from the acclaimed documentary “The Interrupters.”

Interviewed on the court, Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois, said he wants to ask Father Pfleger to let him take this model to the West Side of Chicago. He said the looks on the faces of the youth reminds him of Christmas Eve.

Hardiman, who said homicides are up by 24 percent, said because playing basketball is a team sport; they will learn “the team ethics. They will learn that they can play with their perceived enemy and hopefully after the of the tournament we can get these brothers to embrace one another and begin to look at each other eye-to-eye and say, ‘look, you’re my brother. We’re not enemies anymore.”

He called violence as an “infection disease” that “spreads from one person to another.” Hardiman said violence is a “public health” problem.” He praised Pfleger for his ability to put on this tournament and hopes it will become a national model to end the violence.

 “We have a lot of work to do. A lot of guys have grown up in a culture of violence and some people feel that violence is the norm. We have to change that. Violence is abnormal behavior,” said Hardiman. “That is why it is so good to see NBA players involved because so many people say when are the athletes going to step up, well, Father Pfleger got the athletes to step up.

“Father Pfleger has been a pillow and a champion all throughout the process. This is nothing new to Father Pfleger. He’s been on the streets standing up against violence dealing with gun control issues, and he’s taken a lot of hits at times. A lot of people get mad at Father Pfleger, but he’s standing in the gap for the underdog…and he’s making this happen today all praises to the Saint Sabina community… It’s all about the follow-up plan, now,” said Hardiman. He said the NBA player’s role is key and that the follow-up dialogue can result in a true peace. “This is a start,” he said calling the tournament historic.

Ameena Matthews, with the “Violence Interrupters,” said, “We’re here to promote peace. Over the last couple of nights, there have been some serious homicides over gang retaliation, click retaliation. Hopefully, the right guys come through the doors and click with the NBA players and other celebrities that are in the house and fill a part of to be able to obtain their dreams of saying I can be like them.”

Community activists Andrew Holmes said the basketball game “to let these young men know that they can enhance the quality of life other than picking up a gun, discharging a weapon taking somebody’s life.” Holmes said the goal is also to stop them from “bickering back and forth” on Facebook he says sometimes leads to violence.

He said they can bond “other than being a gang member…representing. Represent yourself in life, your mother, your father because who is going to take care of your kids if you’re incarcerated if someone takes your life,” Holmes said.

Shaykh Rashied, spiritual advisor for the Alhiseez Community Center, is known to promote peace in the community. “We are God made, not man made. We are here to keep the peace and the message of the Creator has put in us to keep. Whose interest is it in that we are killing each other and we’re divided and conquered…. It’s not in our interest,” he said. “We are killing each other because we don’t understand who we are and whose we are…. ”

Roseanne Townsend, a member of Saint Sabina, said, “I think it is going to be an awesome time. I think it is a great time for victory as we come together to make history. I’m really excited about that.”

Father Pfleger thanked “all the brothers who are here from the different teams to come together today to play a family thing together,” he told the standing-room only crowd. “I want to thank all of the NBA players…” and all those who contributed to they what he called a nationally historic event.

Pfleger wants everyone to stay tuned because he said there would be more peace initiatives he hopes will supplant the roots of violence.

Father Pfleger, along with the NBA players, have vowed to continue these peace initiatives saying they will not abandoned these youth.

On his Facebook page, Father Pfleger said he has been in the Auburn Gresham community for 37-years “with so many great experiences, but for this day I will give God thanks for the rest of my life. I tasted heaven today and will do what ever I have to do to help these brothers reach their dreams.”

The Endure dance group performed along with the Chicago Luvabulls. J Allen Minor was the D.J. along with D.J. Armando, and D.J. Trump Nice, provided the music that sometimes caused children to take to the court with some funky gyrations.

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.