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“This year started off with shootings and killings and losing friends left and right,” says 18-year-old Amiyah Lindo. That “discourages you and it makes people think that you might not make it out ... because of the streets of Chicago.” Here’s how she and other youth insist on making change.
Lindo is the vice president of the GoodKids MadCity (GKMC) youth board. The justice group addresses violence through possibilities beyond policing and mass incarceration. When Chicago’s Black youth are consistently stereotyped and stigmatized, GKMC is tackling both violence and violently anti-Black narratives.
According to The TRiiBE, GKMC’s peacekeeping program uses “healing, restorative justice practices and a holistic approach to violence prevention.” They aim to pass the Peacebook Ordinance, which would use $50 million to reallocate Chicago’s police budget to “community-run services such as violence interruption, education, mental health programs, and more.”
This summer, 100 young Chicagoans earned money in a pilot program with networking, art therapy, culinary classes, a podcasting group, check-ins, journaling, and de-escalation tools. When many adult violence intervention workers produce tangible results despite dealing with trauma and unfair compensation, GKMC would be a step forward.
These young Peacekeepers, spurred on by the trauma of losing their own loved ones, are reminding us that police alternatives and community violence intervention aren’t just ideas. They’re real and often need our resources and support.