As a pastor on Chicago’s South Side, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when children are challenged: they grow. They stumble, struggle, and then, suddenly, they succeed—and the pride on their faces tells you everything you need to know. That’s why I believe merit is one of the greatest gifts we can offer a child.
Sadly, too many of our leaders in Chicago no longer believe that.
Today, they seem more committed to advancing a political agenda centered on race than helping kids succeed through hard work and discipline. We have leaders who talk endlessly about “representation,” but say little about academic excellence. And our children—especially in Black communities—are paying the price.
Race Over Results
I remember when we were told that putting Black leaders in power would solve our problems. That Black mayors, teachers, and officials would finally understand the community and lift it up. But that promise hasn’t been kept. In fact, things have gotten worse.
We now have a Black mayor in Brandon Johnson who boasts of running “the blackest administration.” We have a Black leader of the powerful teachers union, Stacy Davis Gates, who wields tremendous influence over public education. Yet our schools are failing. Crime is rampant. And too many of our children are trapped in hopelessness.
What are these leaders doing to fix it? Nothing meaningful. Instead, they keep blaming the same tired enemy: white supremacy.
False Fights, Real Consequences
Mayor Johnson recently warned that America is becoming what it would have been if the Confederacy had won. Stacy Davis Gates, who sends her own children to private school, claimed Donald Trump is trying to “finish the work of the Confederacy.”
This isn’t leadership. It’s distraction.
While these so-called leaders stir up fear and division, children on the South Side are sitting in broken schools, dodging violence, and being taught that the system is permanently stacked against them. That it’s not worth trying. That merit is meaningless.
I’ve seen how dangerous that message is.
The True Path Out of Poverty
I don’t care what color a leader is. I care what they do. And right now, too many of our leaders are failing us. They don’t talk about hard work, discipline, or earning your way forward. They don’t talk about merit, because they’ve traded it in for power built on grievance.
But I know the truth. I’ve seen it every day through my work with Project H.O.O.D. Kids who embrace merit—who learn to believe in their own ability to succeed—can transform their lives.
That’s why I fight from my block on the South Side. Not for political power, not for headlines, but for the kids who deserve a shot. Because merit is America’s promise. And denying that promise to children, in the name of politics or race, is a grave injustice.
Our children don’t need more talk about the past. They need leaders who believe in their future.
