Gun Violence in Chicago — From Parkland to the South Side

A few weeks ago the Washington Post sent me to the South Side to cover the first stop of a national tour by the kids of Parkland, Florida. They were in town to sign up voters and connect their experience as victims of a mass shooting in their high school to everyday gun violence happening in the streets of Chicago. Teenagers from both sides walked the streets, ate bbq, danced, and got to know each other as well as expressed their shared experiences with reporters. Temperatures were reaching 100 degrees that Saturday, which may have prevented a bigger crowd. But later that afternoon the kids traveled an hour outside of Chicago to Naperville, Illinois where they held a panel discussion at a Unitarian church.

You can read my story here.

That day the BBC asked me to join their evening broadcast. You can find that archived interview here. 

This weekend, the gun violence beat continued. On another hot Saturday in Chicago, about 3,000 people gathered at 79th Street and marched down an expressway ramp to shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway to once again raise the alarm about gun violence in their neighborhoods. I followed them and later drove to Millennium Park where a group of about 35 people gathered to advocate for gun rights. This last group was organized to serve as a counterpoint to the Parkland movement. I was part of a national team for the Washington Post that covered their rallies across the U.S. that day.

You can read our story here.