What was billed as a “major address” on the issue of gun violence instead resembled a farce.
Most of the mayor’s speech was dedicated to describing the additional resources he plans to give police. He touted body cameras and Tasers for every officer, and called for tougher gun laws and sentences for repeat gun offenders. He also made a pitch for the mentorship of at-risk youth as the crux of a crime prevention strategy, and offered a very brief note about investing in job-training programs.
Emanuel drew a false equivalence between this systemic oppression of black and brown people and a few alleged incidents of citizens “taunting” police, as he put it.
But even here he failed to address the systemic racism at play in city funding choices. Compared with how much will be spent on police—an estimated $135 million for the surge in force—the amount of money dedicated to neighborhood jobs is a drop in the bucket. And there’s no telling whether the promised jobs would be enough for young people to make ends meet, or whether they’d be more of the same minimum-wage jobs that keep many black and brown people locked in cycles of poverty.
Emanuel’s “raised by gangs” remarks were a clever switch—if not given a dog whistle—for remarks leaked before the speech that would have been more of a direct call to black fathers to take an active role in raising their children, specifically their sons.
Emanuel drew a parallel between his plan and President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance initiative, a five-year, $200 million program designed to provide mentoring, summer jobs, and other support to young men of color. Obama’s program has been roundly criticized for overlooking the needs of young women and girls of color—a critique that should also be leveled at the mayor’s plans. Emanuel’s initiative hinges on mentoring programs for at-risk young men. He never once mentioned young women.
