I walked in a peaceful protest march last night that featured faith and community leaders. We started at Dunbar High School on 29th & Martin Luther King Dr. and walked three miles south through the Bronzeville neighborhood where we ended at Washington Park. Certain images and memories will certainly stay with me: Walking side by side with my daughter, seeing a young girl no more than 3-years-old watch us walk by as she stood there silently with her arm and fist raised, a group of black nuns waving from the roof of Corpus Christi Catholic Church. I also will remember at one point two young men walking on the median alongside the marchers and yelling out, “You may be here today, but where will you be TOMORROW?”
It’s a question that sticks with me. I go for a run through Bronzeville occasionally early in the morning, but how often do I go to restaurants there, take in the numerous historical landmarks? Not very often and it’s a neighborhood borders the South Loop, where I live.
I don’t have an answer to the question these young men asked. Like many, I don’t have an answer to a lot of things these days. Instead, I simply have more questions. Am I part of the problem? Yes. Can I be part of the solution, whatever that is and however long it takes? Also, yes. At least I hope so. I pray for the wisdom and patience to listen closely to my neighbors of color. Discern when it’s time to be quiet and follow and when it’s time to speak up lead. And keep showing up and walking, step by step, tomorrow after tomorrow.