A little girl stands with her family at the vigil of a man
slain on the streets of Chicago. (Photo: John W. Fountain)
Amid the killing, the more than 7,500 people murdered in Chicago alone since 2001--mostly by gunfire--it has been said that there are no children here. But there are, even if the children die and their blood cries, under a school-day sun.
CHICAGO--There are children here, though scarred and battered. Big dreams shattered. Big-city tattered. Ghetto fractured.
And sometimes, all that matters here is getting home safe each day, under each new school-day sun. Escaping bloody pools that run, sometimes like rivers here, on the darkest side of fear--cascading waterfalls of salty tears beneath their veneer of adult masks that cause some to wonder, to ask, "Where are the children, here?"
Hollow eyes stare into space. Mournful cries yearn for grace. And yet, little brown boys with baby faces, and little brown girls with curls and lace frolic on some golden, sun-drenched days. Jump rope with joy and laughter ablaze. Rough-house in vacant lots--play all day--while some stand afar gazing and still see: No children here.
The children who remain in harm's way, even as they resume play,
making cold mud pies beneath sun-scorched skies
But I see them. Brown, or black like me. Some scarred like me. Scared like me--once a ghetto child. Hardening--hearts half calcified--by life lived under the constant shadow of death, where chaos is the score that too often resounds between each breath. Here, where poverty hangs like a hornet's nest. Where hope unseen is still a treasure chest.
And children's dreams here are no less than the dreams of children anywhere--everywhere--even when muted by suffocating despair, by the nocturnal spray of gunfire piercing the air. That sometimes rouses them from their beds--recurring nightmare, living dread.
But there are children here. Even if some, even here, have said in haste--amid the waste of human hate, of murderous tides and hope-drained lakes, and snow-capped dreams that now lie forever frozen by icy fates--that there are no children here.
Tyesa. Dantrell. Rashonda. Diamond and Tionda.
Derrion Albert. Blair Holt. By the thousands. Too many to know.
The children die. Their blood cries. And politicians and preachers--poverty pimping creatures--lie in wait to seize the temporary light of media hype then disappear like thieves in the night. Far from sight. Far from the fight.
Far from the plight of the children who remain in harm's way, even as they resume play, making cold mud pies beneath sun-scorched skies--delight filling their eyes, even on the day they die.
There are children here. Pigtails and ponytails. Bubble gum and ice cream dreams. Patty cake. Summer nights. Snowball fights. Trampolines--imagined from musty mattresses, like quilts sewn from useless patches, and by imagination, raptured into rhapsodies and tapestries that form the substance of children's dreams.
Are their faces too dark for the world to care? Their eyes too deeply brown to see within their stare the glare of humanity that glistens like the constellations, even in a world darkened by cold depravity? Is their world too impoverished and bare? Their lives lived too distant from mainstream fare?
Who is it that hears their cries? Or who dissects the lies that hold them prisoner on these hyper-segregated isles of urban guile--that gnaw at their souls, conspire to steal their smiles. All the while, some convince themselves that there are no children here.
For they have seen too much, some say. Heard too much to still play - as children do. Ingested too much hate to love as children do - to still be considered as children too.
Innocence lost--so great a cost. And yet, the greater loss: To be written off. To be rendered invisible, even though clear as frost.
I see them: Kissing the light of a summer's day. A double-dutch jump rope slapping the sidewalk at play. The dull ringing of a basketball on the ground. A cacophony of laughter, joy, sound--even in a world where so much heartache abounds.
Email: Author@johnwfountain.com
Website: http://www.johnwfountain.com
A banner bearing the photo of Blair Holt, 16, slain on a CTA bus in Chicago in 2007 while shielding a friend from gunfire. The banner lay on a table in a church hall, where the Parents of Murdered Children were meeting.
Two children stand at a vigil for Tanaja Stokes, 8, fatally shot in the head in 2010 while she and her 7-year-old cousin, who was wounded by gunfire, jumped rope outside their home and practiced a cheerleading routine. (Photos: John W. Fountain)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.