higher learning network,nfp: May 2012

Sunday, May 20, 2012

NATO - Chicago Journalist Media Tour Chicago

"Chicago Tax Dollars Go To Corporate Caviar."
reads the headline from the Huffington Post, noting how millions are spent needlessly on things that matter less than the lives of those in the community in which it serves.

In a nutshell, $36.5 million dollars spent on bring NATO to Chicago, with $14 million spent on parties! Wow! What a waste of taxpayers dollars.

Local and International Journalist convened together to go to communities to report how this money could have better served it's constituents. Bringing NATO to Chicago did not help local residents, only Corporate Business.

It's HLN business to bring this information to you in a timely matter.

This is what I love most about Higher Learning Network's behind-the-scenes training for youth.
It's the conversations that you don't hear about what happened. We met at the Hyatt Hotel for our morning briefing, then off to Englewood and Brighton Park. These 2 locations are a few of the most underserved communities, both affected by the lack of participation in the current administration.

Chicago Communicator, The London Times, Citizen's News, WGN and the Higher Learning Network News Journalists were all on one accord to record and bring to you the truth of what's happening in underserved communities of color.

All the professional journalists enjoyed this media tour, with the exception of the threat from one of the young men in the Brighton Park area, who wanted to know why we were in his neighborhood in the first place.

Organizers of the Media Tour for Journalists are Amisha Patel, Executive Director (wearing glasses in background) and Media Contact Eric Telez (white shirt) of www.thegrassrootscollaborative.org as we gather prior to departing to South Side of Chicago to Englewood and Brighton Park. These are just a few of the neighborhoods hardest hit during tough economic times, that NATO funding could have been used to uplift the community instead of using funding for parties, etc. to entertain world leaders.

It's the bus ride, comraderrie among journalists, that make it all worthwhile.

Eric Telez, media contact for the Journalists covering this event.

                               Amisha Patel, Grassroots Collaborative Executive Director on the job!
                                         This is why she's the boss, always making sure everything is in place,
                                                      and the job gets done!
                                                              Well done!

NATO Media Tour with Mr. Brown of ACTION NOW in Englewood with Journalists

Community Activist/Retired Police Officer Mr. Brown, (ACTION NOW) grew up in the Englewood Community and has seen the devastation that the community is currently experiencing. For over 43 years he has seen how the lost of jobs, families losing homes due to foreclosure and the ever growing drug traffic has decreased the value of this community.

He explains to Journalists during the NATO Media Tour provide by
www.thegrassrootscollaborative.org that if Mayor Rahm Emanuel would spend a mere few thousand dollars to help this community it would make a huge difference.

The 14 million this administration is currently spending on NATO to bring world leaders together
(sources say $14 Million for parties, hosting, etc!) could bring families together by giving them jobs, getting their homes back, making the community safe for the children to go to school. He goes on to say that "The plan is to expand the Dan Ryan through this community and displace even more families. This is system and has been in the workings for a very long time. Unless we continue the fight, they will win this war."

What is NATO? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, is a political-military alliance made up of 28 member countries, including the United States. (www.nato.int)

The real problem with NATO is that it doesn't include what people of the community need, it only the leaders who make decisions. These decisions are made on the backbone of everyday citizens, hard working people who support this country by being good tax paying citizens, but are constantly ignored by the powers that be, Corporate Greed!

Brighton Park Neighborhood Tour with Concerned Mothers...

Brighton Park was also included in the Media Tour by local and international Journalists exploring different communities to show the disparities in America where the poor are preyed upon by Corporate Greed. Money spent needlessly on NATO could have been spent to rebuild these dying communities.

These women stand on guard in the community to ensure the safety of the children who attend school there. It is a safe zone that the drug trafficers respect during school hours, but once it's over, they're back to business as usual.