Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, residents who spoke to The Trace said they want party leaders to venture out beyond the event and listen to affected communities.
In the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention, signs for the event blanket Chicago’s most visible landmarks. Billboards dot the highways surrounding O’Hare International Airport, and posters around the beaches of Lake Michigan let people know that “Chicago welcomes DNC 2024.”
But the fervor around the convention, and the arena where it will take place, misses the real face of Chicago, residents say: It’s a city defined by the harms of gun violence and, just as importantly, the resilience of its residents.
The Trace spoke to a dozen Chicagoans to learn what they want DNC participants to know about the toll of gun violence on their neighborhoods. Residents, often survivors themselves, said they want politicians to leave their misconceptions behind, look beyond statistics, and visit their communities to directly hear from those affected. These conversations, many said, would help leaders better understand the issue, the work already underway to improve it, and what resources are needed.
Jayden Wright, an 18-year-old resident of Belmont Cragin, has heard outsiders call Chicago a “gun-infested city” shaded by levels of violence that are “through the roof.” There is certainly gun violence, he said, but these exaggerations don’t help. “It takes away and dehumanizes the situation where we just focus on the guns but not the people.”
Read more: https://www.thetrace.org/2024/08/dnc-gun-violence-chicago-community/