Lake View: The problem is...

by Rev. Deborah E. Lake
Windy City Times

Laura Washington's May 19 Chicago Sun-Times article and Amy Wooten's May 28 follow-up article in Windy City Times have sparked new energy in an ongoing debate between the business owners and residents of Chicago's Lakeview Boystown neighborhood, and some adult Black LGBTQ self-identified youth advocates. The debate, often heated, passionate and littered with accusations of racism, is over how to handle the teens who come to the gay-focused Boystown from the South and West sides of Chicago.

Yes, we have choices to make. We can continue to honor taboos, look for blame, act out of guilt and treat one another with suspicion. We can continue to see each other as “those” people, and continue to argue about who has the right to make change happen. We can continue the fight about change all while another year passes and the only change we see is in the faces of the people arguing. Another year passes and the only change that happens is more young people are lost to HIV, addiction or abuse.

The problem is not race, although race is part of the picture. The problem is not age, although age is part of the picture. The problem is not grandstanding, although grandstanding is part of the picture. The problem is us. The problem is our community has become stuck in ancient battles, old ways, and irrelevant rhetoric. The problem is we are silent in the face of people who prey on the innocent and hide in the chaos. The problem is me. The problem is you.

This means that the solution must be us.

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