I am thankful Black Friday wasn’t business as usual in our city.
I am thankful for the protesters who kept things peaceful when they shut down Chicago’s most iconic shopping district on the rich part of town.
I am thankful for the police officers who calmly stood nose-to-nose with angry protesters when it might have been well within their rights to respond out of fear.
I am thankful of the brave people who broke the no-snitch code of silence and the Chicago police investigators who came together to help bring charges against the men directly responsible for the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee.
I am thankful we have begun to talk about the heart of city’s troubles and pressure our politicians to finally — after generations of excuses and neglect — to get busy making the important changes needed to repair broken trust in law enforcement and address the economic disparities between the rich and poor parts of town that keep us divided.
I am thankful for my fellow journalists who marched miles alongside protesters to document the beautiful expression of our First Amendment rights that as Americans we should be thankful for the most.
I am thankful for investigative reporters, citizen journalists and freelance writers doggedly pursuing answers to so many unanswered questions related to the death of Laquan McDonald, the role the “thin blue line” code of silence in our police department may have in protecting bad cops and whether elected officials used crafty political messaging to keep things quiet and preserve their power.
I am thankful for every single person who used social media to show our efforts to the world in hashtags, photos and powerful snippets of video.
I am thankful early conflicts in a battle for our city’s future have not resulted in its destruction.
I am proud of us, Chicago.
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