April 8th Breakfast / Commentary |
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Greetings!
Tomorrow morning's Power Breakfast, featuring an assessment and discussion of the April 4th Runoff and the historic election of Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, should prove informative and engaging. We hope you can join us.
Respectfully,
COAL Board of Directors
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"The time to work seriously and collectively, to improve the state of our Community, is upon us..."
Let Us be intentional in all aspects of the Work that must be done.
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April (in-person) Coalition Power Breakfast
Saturday, April 8, 2023
8:30am Breakfast - 9:30am Program - 11:00am Close
Guest Panel
Delmarie Cobb - Veteran Media and Political Consultant
Art Norman - NBC 5 News Special Contributor and TV Host
Artinese Myrick - Lead Organizer, LIVEFREE Illinois
Analyzing, Discussing the April 4th Runoff Results
and a Path Forward
8237 S. Princeton, Chicago
(parking and entrance in rear)
Breakfast Buffet $12 (cash, check, Zelle)
RSVP by replying to this notice at publicpolicy@coalchicago.com
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We Turned The Page
4/6/23
For 35 years, Black Chicago has been wandering in the desert. Ever since Mayor Harold Washington’s sudden death, we have been searching for the Promise Land.
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson is the first Progressive mayor Chicagoans have elected since Washington. Unfortunately, we never got to see if Mayor Eugene Sawyer was progressive. To the dismay of those who selected him on that fateful night following Washington’s death, Sawyer did continue and fund his predecessor’s programs and policies--specifically, minority hiring and contracting. The substantial split in the Black community that forced the Special Election resulting in Mayor Richard M. Daley’s victory cast us to wander.
As Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said at the time of the 1989 Special Election, “Harold Washington’s death was the rope and the special election was the grease on the rope.” In other words, the division in our community threw us into decades of chaos.
For only the second time, in Chicago’s history, we rose to take the proverbial foot off our necks. After losing 250,000 Black Chicagoans since 2000, hundreds of Black businesses and jobs, the closing of 50 school buildings, millions of dollars in regressive taxes, fees and fines, and paying a billion dollars for police misconduct and wrongful death lawsuits, we chose someone to lead the city with no connection to the Daley Dynasty. Read here.
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4/623
The euphoria of Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson being elected the 57th mayor of Chicago has started to ebb slightly and the shock of front runner Paul Vallas losing still has many Chicagoans shaking their heads. To call the battle between the two men anything but contentious means you weren’t paying attention.
Right now however, the focus needs to be that Johnson won and despite which side we were on April 4; it is time to help Chicago move forward. No way do we need to suddenly become cheerleaders for the new mayor. We do though, as Chicagoans have a duty to closely examine Johnson’s platform and find out where we can help. There is no doubt that Johnson and his transition team, along with his administration when it is established, will do the heavy lifting on the budget deficit, pension issues, the planned casino, the Democratic Party National Convention, and other matters. For some, that examination might reveal they don’t have the expertise or desire to participate. In those cases, your contribution should consist of not sitting on the sidelines and bombs at those trying to help.
The more mundane matters tell us in traditional urban parlance “get in where you fit in.” Realistically, the city has enough problems that if everyone took on an assignment of solving just one of them, there would still be another waiting upon completion of that first one.
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About COAL
COAL is an umbrella organization founded by 13 of Chicago's historic African American mens clubs. COAL's overarching mission is to identify, examine, illuminate and find resolution to issues impacting the greater community. We strive to use our collective experience, expertise and resources to improve the quality of opportunity, quality of preparedness and the quality of outcomes (expressed as 'quality of life') for our Community.
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Founding Member Organizations
100 Black Men Of Chicago ■ Chicago Assembly ■ Chicago Connection ■ Druids Club ■ Frogs Club ■ Lunch Bunch ■ New Committee ■ Original 40 Club Of Chicago ■ Rat Pack ■ Royal Coterie Of Snakes ■ Saints ■ Sigma Pi Phi Beta-Boule ■ UIC Male Forum (now Chicago Good Health Group)
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What We Believe
The Coalition of African American Leaders believes that it is important to examine the critical issues confronting the African American community where injustice, inequality and the absence of access and opportunity continue to prevail, thereby negatively impacting us as a people.
COAL is an assemblage that advocates and organizes for appropriate and responsible public policy change, system behavior change and equality of opportunity. We aim to achieve for all of our people the fullness of the life experience without any form of racism or exclusion as a deterrent.
We believe we must prepare ourselves for the opportunity of this full participation, thereby achieving the necessary education and training to participate.
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Contact: Clarence Wood, Chairman 312.404.8269 - Craig K. Wimberly, President 773.350.9315
Email: publicpolicy@coalchicago.com
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COAL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Illinois, USA.
Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by U.S. law.
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