DO BLACK PEOPLE IN SAUK VILLAGE MATTER?

Is the Black Community in Sauk Village really relevant?

Larry Stewart

GUEST EDITORIAL
By Larry Stewart
-a black man in Sauk Village
-Former Sauk Village Housing Commissioner
-Community Activist, Senior Citizen and resident
Sauk Village began to “change” from 2000 to 2010 as many of my people came from Chicago to stay in the Village.  Now let me give you the difference between “staying” and “living”.  When you stay somewhere you don’t care about your neighborhood,  your kids are probably walking the streets and you barely know who they hang out with.  When you live somewhere you care you care about the neighbors, your neighborhood and take notice of your children, what they are doing and who they hang out with.  Now that we have that clear let’s move on.

Sauk Village has 77% non-white minority and 23% white who live or stay here (source: 2010 U.S. Census Data) and yet we have but 2 out of 8 village officials who are black as Trustees on our Village Board.  Our Library Board only has 1 black woman out of 7 members.  Our School Board, in contrast, is comprised of 4 black women and 2 black men out of 7 members, a bit more representative of the demographics of the Village.  All 3 of our State Representatives, both State Senators and our Congresswoman are all black. 

I’m not a racist person, some of my best friends are white, but what I don’t understand and I have to ask where is the black community?  When it comes to running our Village the black community has been irrelevant and remained silent!  There are no black village department heads, only 2 out of 24 police officers are black, 1 black public works employees out of 9, and a few blacks on our “volunteer” fire department.

Here is what I endured trying to make a difference in Sauk Village.  I served on the Sauk Village Housing Commission until I was removed.  I was told that they had the police following me, taking pictures of me trying to find out where I lived.  They were supposedly doing this the entire time I was in and out of hospitals for medical reasons and essentially homeless.  So when they removed the “black” housing commissioner, that’s me by the way, because they wanted me to prove I was homeless, who did Chairman Gary Holcomb and Mayor David Hanks find but a white man to replace me!  Out of the 7,700 black men and black women they couldn’t find one black person?  Do they think this is going to stop me from trying to make a difference… HELL NO!  I’m going to fight harder!

Now the police, public works and our fire fighters do an outstanding job.  My intention here is to get the black people of Sauk Village to wake up!  Stop complaining that there are no jobs in Sauk Village when you haven’t done anything to make a difference.  This is your Village!  Stop standing in line for a free hot dog in the park with the Mayor!  Stop standing in line for a free book bag!  Stop standing in line for all the BS!  Stop standing in line expecting the people to give you something because you feel entitled!  Do something to make change!  Don’t go in your house, close the curtains and hide and expect someone else to do something.  Go on to Sauk Village, Illinois Facebook, go to the Village meetings, the Library meetings and the School Board meetings find out what is going on in your community and how you have been pushed aside by this administration.  Go out and make a difference in Sauk Village!  Oh and more important get yourself registered and get out and VOTE!

Why are we, as a black community, depending on others to give us something when it is our responsibility to do something about it?  How about step up and lead!

For those black elected officials and employees I applaud you.  Remember to help empower the black community, the ones who appear to be irrelevant but still matter! 

It’s not the other peoples’ fault that the black community in Sauk Village is not relevant.  Our children are being shot dead in the streets!  What are you going to do?  This is our Village too!  Do something, make a difference!


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