OFF TO THE RACES
About Off to the Races
OUR VISION
The Off to the Races group envisions zip codes 60612 and 60624 becoming a unified community that thrives in a safe, healthy, and equitable environment with the expectation of an 80% drop in violence, and an 80% increase in quality education by 2030!
OUR MISSION
To provide each person in the community with a higher quality education, while creating diversity, a safe environment and healing. A shared American Culture; that submits suggestions, ideas, designs, and content to identify and embrace the different values and norms within a diverse community. We believe that being racially literate helps us to understand HOW WE GOT HERE - as we heal together.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
OFF TO THE RACES” This project is a part of a bigger project called, “HEALING Illinois' ' The large government grant was given out across Ill, with a single focus. How do we heal from the ills of slavery and racism in our society? Above and Beyond Family Recovery center was one of the recipients of the grant. Dan Hostetler, the Executive Director of Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center is a pioneer in the field of mental health and substance use. He saw the value and the need for such a project here on the Westside of Chicago.
Well here is what I think! I think we are at a crossroad in regards to the racism in the country, more like a tipping point, when Derek Chauvin, the policeman, placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck suffocating him while he begged stating he couldn’t breathe for nine minutes until he died. This happened on May 25,2020. He was murdered in front of a group of on lookers asking if they could give him medical attention. But he died right there in front of them. That was the racial tipping point that fueled national unrest.
Now there were other tipping points in our society. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man Dec 01, 1955/ when Emmett Till, a young fourteen year old African American teen supposedly whistles at a white woman in Mississippi two days, later he was drug from his uncle’s home in the middle of the night by a group white men. His disfigured body was found three days later in the Tallahassee River, shot in the head, an ear missing, teeth knocked out. His mother refused to have a closed coffin funeral, she wanted the world to see what they had done to her child, what racism (HATE),. looks like Trayvon Martin, a seventeen year old African American male killed coming back from the store getting skittles. He was confronted by George Zimmerman who ultimately shot and killed him. He was not convicted because he had a right to defend himself due to the (Stand your Ground law) As if Trayvon didn’t have the right to stand his ground. Rodney King, another one beaten on camera by policemen for a traffic stop.
These events sparked a national movement. Let's hope it’s not for a moment.
