On the North Lawndale streets where Broderick Thomason grew up, some of his peers had never even been downtown.
Instead, the daily excitement involved trying to escape an “eye-for-an-eye” retribution.
“Beefs came from out of nowhere, from people who used to be friends,” said Thomason, 21, who now lives in West Town. “Nine out of 10 times, they don’t even know why they’re doing it. You killed my friend, I’m going to kill your friend.”
Thomason escaped that life thanks to a pastor, a mentor and some good fortune. And that’s why he was at the Chicago Cultural Center on Friday to share his story during the launch of My Brother’s Keeper Action Plan in Chicago. My Brother’s Keeper was an initiative that President Barack Obama started in 2014.
The Chicago plan aims to write more stories like Thomason’s by funneling government, nonprofit and philanthropic resources to the West and South sides.
It’s not, organizers say, a story you’ve heard before.
Teams, led by the nonprofit Thrive Chicago, spent six months listening to the concerns of West and South side youth and letting those concerns guide how they plan to help.
A number of kids said they were having a hard time finding programs that might improve their lives.
“We as a city need to help these young people get better connected,” said Sandra Abrevaya, Thrive’s president, adding that some youth had said, “‘I feel like I have to get in trouble to have access to one of these programs.'”
Abrevaya said Thrive has had commitments from a number of organizations, including Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago, which, in the latter’s case, will involve helping high school kids find scholarships targeting disadvantaged youth.
“Thrive Chicago and the Obama Foundation will not allow this action plan to sit on a shelf,” Abrevaya insisted. “We are all about what the commitments are to see through the vision of these young people. . . . We will hold the city collectively accountable. We will shine a spotlight on how this work is moving forward, and we will shine a spotlight when people do not take the ball and move it forward.”
For his part, Thomason, who is in a carpenter’s apprentice program, says he plans to return to North Lawndale to help others as others helped him.
“I’m about the only one from my neighborhood who gets involved in stuff like this. So I can be a help,” he said.
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