Shorty is Celebrating 10 Years in 2012!
January 3rd, 2012 by ShortyIt’s hard to believe that Shorty has been around for 10 years! What started as a 2-page document to share the good news about a new job with my friends and family grew into a six to eight page community newsletter. It was then turned into this blog in January 2010. Did I mention that it was a monthly newsletter? I wrote, designed and edited Shorty In Da House every month. I only missed a couple of months in later years because of conferences and other activities. I’m still here, though!
I’ll have some activities planned later on this year; feel free to provide suggestions on how I should celebrate. But, please join me in celebrating. Read the very first issue of Shorty In House now.
3 Lessons the Black Community Can Learn from Chinatown
September 2nd, 2011 by Shorty
As your Chicago South Side Resource, I am learning more about Chicago. I am more observant than most when I visit different neighborhoods. It could be because I’m a journalist or it could be because I am uberly nosy. Either way, I have checked out some things in Chinatown that are pretty admirable that, if applied by Black people, could make their economic conditions just a little better. Following are three lessons the Black community can learn from Chinatown.
1. Everyone is welcome to visit, but they are not welcomed to stay
I’ve shopped, eaten and participated in different festivities in Chinatown, and I have seen very few people of Asian descent that live or work there. Remember, this is my observation only. It is a tight knit community. And, to be sure that only a few outsiders can come in, mostly everything is in their language with a few select words translated to English.
Lesson: Stop letting everyone into your community. Yeah, I know that things are much deeper than this, and race, class and politics have a lot to do with much of it. Just know that other people cannot take over if they cannot get in.
2. Chinese money stays in the Chinese community
From my observations, everything Chinese people need is in their neighborhood. As I stated earlier, I have seen mostly people who look like them working in their stores. They probably don’t have to leave the community unless they just want to. And, I have to wonder, how many times does the dollar circulate in their community before it leaves the community? Here’s a random, yet relevant thought: Have you ever seen any Asian people in businesses in the Black community if they were not the owners?
Lesson: Spend your money with Black-owned businesses and employ other Black people. I know this is easier said than done on so many levels; but if you can find good, reliable help, hire it.
3. They control their own media
I personally have never seen or heard of any new stories about Chinatown on any local stations in Chicago and I refuse to pay for cable. I have two thoughts on why this is so. First, this could be because they do not report their “dirty laundry” to large mainstream media sources. Or, they empower their media sources to tell their stories their way. Either way, what happens in Chinatown stays in Chinatown.
Lesson: Create and control your own media. Tell your story with accuracy and honesty to counter mainstream media images and stories. Free social media tools are available or report your stories to bloggers, social media gurus and other online community influencers who care about your community. Ideally, the people telling your stories will live in the communities in which they are reporting.
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The lessons listed about are just a few things I’ve seen as an outsider looking in. And from what I can tell, the Black community would fare much better economically if they practiced the above three lessons from Chinatown.
Images: chicagochinatown, brotherpeacemaker
Shorty Wonders: When Does the Community Start Caring?
August 19th, 2010 by Shorty
As I read about, watch and hear stories about people, especially children, being killed daily on Chicago’s South Side, I wonder how many people say, “Oh, another person died today,” or “Poor baby,” like it’s OK that a life was taken senselessly.
But, what is the reaction of those same people when something (God forbids) like that happens to someone close to them?
I find that there is another group of people that react after the fact for whatever reason. I respect the fact that they are taking action, but deaths are occurring NOW. There are small things that can be done NOW to stop great tragedy later.
I often wonder: when does the community start caring? If I had to guess, they start caring when they experience loss personally. They are not seeing the death of any one person as a loss because they don’t know that person. And I also wonder: Do they ever think of or pray for the family that was left behind?
Yes, I’m outraged! I don’t have any children of my own, but I grew up at a time when the community took care of me. When I did something (although I was generally scared to get in trouble), I was chastised from everyone who saw what I did from across the street to the end of the alley. Then, I got in trouble with my mother and grandmother. I usually only got one whipping. I guess they tossed a coin on that one. But still, I had a crew of people caring. I knew no one was going to bother me because someone was looking out for me even when I could not see them watching.
I often wonder if am just like those people who read, watch and hear stories and do nothing. I do get emotional when I see a family member or friend talking about their loved one in past tense – “She was” or “he was.” That should never be, especially when it’s a parent talking about their child.
Is my mission of speaking life to the people I encounter enough? Whenever I pass someone on the street, I normally smile, give a complement or saying something positive. I’m finding that just acknowledging people with a greeting makes a difference. However, I have not sought out an organization to volunteer my services. Do I really need to do that to make a difference? Or, is my speaking life to others enough? I don’t know.
What I do know is that people in the community need to start caring before tragedy hits home. And no one can say, “It can’t happen to me.” It can happen to anybody at anytime because bullets do not have names on them but they do have intended targets.
Please know that I’m not discounting other areas of the city. All lives are precious to me. However, lives are snuffed daily on the South Side and are just as quickly forgotten – except by those who loved them. And, if deaths are occurring at alarming rates in other areas, they are not being reported.
So, when do you think the community starts caring – before, during or after tragedy?
The Community of St. Sabina Will Be Praying in Roseland Tonight at 7:00
August 13th, 2010 by Shorty
Roseland has experienced a lot of violence lately, the latest being the loss of the life of a young girl this week. St. Sabina will standing with the Roseland community as a sign of support at 7 pm on 107th and Indiana.
Call St. Sabina at 77.483.4300 to sign up to ride the bus from the church. They will be leaving at 6:15.
“Let’s come together and stand together.”