ENGLEWOOD — Moving to address inequities dredged up by the Laquan McDonald case, Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday announced he was embracing a presidential initiative for minority youths, but student protesters at a high-achieving charter school nevertheless heckled him with shouts of "16 shots."
Emanuel announced what he called a "My Brother's Keeper" Cabinet Wednesday at the Urban Prep Academies campus in Englewood.
Building on President Barack Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" initiative, which seeks to boost achievement for minority youths, the mayor will create a 22-member panel made up of "representatives from the faith-based, business, civic, and educational communities in Chicago," his press office said.
The mayor said the panel "will spearhead a comprehensive, citywide strategy to continue to expand opportunity for every child and young man of color in Chicago."
After the mayor's remarks at the all-male charter high school Wednesday morning, some students shouted, "16 shots," a chant referring to 17-year-old Laquan's shooting death at the hands of officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014. The chants came as the school celebrated its annual ceremony presenting students with school ties for being accepted to college.
"The mayor recognizes that Chicagoans are understandably frustrated," Emanuel spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said afterward. "He has called for systemic reform to bring safety to every community and rebuild trust where it has been lost. As part of that process he will continue to engage with residents, police and community leaders to address their specific concerns."
Later in the day, in a news conference at the Harold Washington Library, Emanuel cast the controversy in a historical context.
"We as a city have come face to face with our history," he said. "This is decades in the making."
Emanuel pledged that this time Police reforms would be different.
"I think it's appropriate that we be held accountable, that this incident, and all the events involving Laquan McDonald, do not get put off to the side, do not get half measures as we've had before, but in a fundamental way we deal with it," he added. "I'm energized to deal with that, and I'm also energized that we have to be held accountable and make this different than last time."
At the Urban Prep event, he emphasized the cabinet would be part of the solution. Saying he wanted to expand Urban Prep's record of students graduating and going on to college, Emanuel said, "If you invest in the children of the City of Chicago, you'll always come out a winner."
Yet he also made reference to it being "a particular time in the city," and the chants that have echoed in the streets during protests all through that time the last few weeks followed him even to Urban Prep.
The announcement was made at Urban Prep because the Cabinet includes the school's founder, Tim King, as well as Chicago Public Schools Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson and Monica Haslip of Little Black Pearl in Bronzeville. King is one of the chairmen, along with Juan Salgado of the Instituto del Progresso Latino.
"I am proud to support any initiative that promotes greater opportunities for our youth, particularly children and young men of color,” King said.
“I look forward to my role as co-chair to the mayor's MBK Cabinet. With the mayor’s leadership on and commitment to this initiative, Chicago’s youth will be even closer to realizing their full promise and potential."
The other members of the Cabinet include:
Berto Aguayo, of Hoops in the Hood
Torrey Barrett, of the KLEO Center
Eddie Bocanegra, of the YMCA of Chicago
Noel Chambers, of the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago
Charlie Dates, of the Progressive Baptist Church
Evelyn Diaz, of the Heartland Alliance
Adrian Esquivel, of the Chicago Workforce Funders Alliance
Shayne Evans, of the University of Chicago
Kirk Harris, of Fathers, Families, and Healthy Communities
Aarti Kotak, of the city's Department of Planning and Development
Sequane Lawrence, of the Chicago Center for Arts and Technology
Patrick Milton, of CPS
Katya Nuques, of En Lace
Sheldon Smith, of the Dovetail Project
Alfred Tatum, of the University of Illinois at Chicago
Carl Tutt, of 100 Black Men of Chicago
A.J. Watson, of Youth Guidance
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