GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) — Extreme sexual violence against women is pervasive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and local authorities do little to stop it or prosecute those responsible, a U.N. investigator said on Monday. Rape and brutality against women and girls are “rampant and committed by non-state armed groups, the Armed Forces of the DRC, the National Congolese Police, and increasingly also by civilians”, said Turkish lawyer Yakin Erturk.

“Violence against women seems to be perceived by large sectors of society to be normal,” she added in a report after an 11-day trip to the strife-torn country. Erturk, special rapporteur for the United Nations Human Rights Council on violence against women, said the situation in South Kivu province, where rebels from neighboring Rwanda operate, was the worst she had ever encountered. The atrocities perpetrated there by armed groups, some of whom seemed to have been involved in the 1994 Rwandan massacres in which 800,000 people were killed, “are of an unimaginable brutality that goes far beyond rape,” she said.

“Women are gang-raped, often in front of their families and communities. In numerous cases, male relatives are forced at gun point to rape their own daughters, mothers or sisters,” she said. After rape, many women were shot or stabbed in the genital area, and survivors told Erturk that while held as slaves by the gangs they had been forced to eat excrement or the flesh of their murdered relatives.

Women who have been raped are systematically rejected by their families and society. Widespread sexual abuse in the various conflicts racking the republic — which last year held elections hailed as marking a new era — “seems to have become a generalized aspect of the overall oppression of women,” Erturk said. Her report followed charges from U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour last week that soldiers and police used excessive force, including summary executions, in quelling opposition protesters in the west of the DRC earlier this year.

In the central Equateur province, the police and army often responded to civil unrest “with organized armed reprisals that target the civilian population and involve indiscriminate pillage, torture and mass rape”, the report found. Although the DRC parliament outlawed sexual violence in July 2006, “little action is taken by the authorities to implement the law and perpetrators continue to enjoy immunity, especially if they wear the state’s uniform,” Erturk said.

Erturk said Congo’s justice system was corrupt and in “a deplorable state,” while conditions in prisons were “scandalous”. Senior army and police officers shielded their men from prosecution, and when some were arrested they escaped easily, probably “with the complicity of those in charge.” In a few cases courts had ordered the state and individuals to compensate victims. But “to this day the government has not paid reparations to a single victim who has suffered sexual violence at the hand of state agents,” said.

Source: Reuters & CNN

My Fashion Icon: Do you credit your fashion sense and style to your Mom or someone else in your family? Maybe, it was your favorite cousin. Well, it’s time to show them homage by letting them know that they are your fashion icon and inspiration. In My Fashion Icon - we will highlight 1-5 pictures or video of your icons strutting their stuff. Also, you will be able to tell us why he or she is your fashion icon. The feature will be hosted in “news.gossip.info.” So, go ahead and visit Nana and dig through some old polaroids to find the perfect pictures that will make your fashion icon proud. Send in pictures or video of your non-celebrity fashion icon to fashionicon@clutchmagazine.com

What’s In YOUR Clutch?: Are you a M.A.C Cosmetics junkie, is Smackers Watermelon chapstick your lipgloss staple?, do you keep Elasta QP Elucent Power Drops handy, or do you make sure to carry Tic-Tacs at all times? Well, tell us! Email mail us at beauty@clutchmagazine.com and let us know what’s in your clutch bag, make sure to included a picture of yourself or a clutch bag that represents you!

More to come….

Actress Mo’nique has defended black musicians who use the word “n$#@%r” in their lyrics, insisting it is a term of endearment. The comedienne believes African-Americans have a responsibility to banish the negativity surrounding the word and is keen to reclaim it as an accepted term among the black population.

She says, “Do I use the word n$#@%r? Yes, in my comedy routine and in life because it’s our word. Here’s the thing. We need to stop giving people the power over that word. We take it and turn it around to make it beautiful. You see, they gave us that word back then. They called us n$#@%r back then.

“So yes, I hold on to it. And I say it to the n$#@%rs, keep doing your thing with pride and honor. Look how we overcame. Her name is Oprah Winfrey. His name is Shawn Carter. Her name is Condoleezza Rice. Look at them n$#@%rs.”

Source: Star Pulse
Image: Oxygen

Everybody is going green. From cars to the Oscars. The last industry to jump on this trend was the beauty industry. They lagged behind the trend, thinking that people were more interested in their own vanity then the environment. But, they were wrong. More and more consumers are demanding eco-friendly beauty products. The market is slowly but surely reflecting this change in consumer consciousness and buying habits.

One of the leaders in the pack of eco-friendly beauty products is the groundbreaking line Amazonia Nutrients ($29.95 for three piece kit, amazonianutrients.com). The products by Amazonia Nutrients are separated into two lines, Amazonia Nutrients Classic, which includes Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner, Texturizing Control Gel and Rain forest Detangling Spray and Amazonia Nutrients Color Protecting, which includes shampoo, conditioner and hydrating mask.

What separates Amazonia Nutrients from other hair care product lines is its philosophy to promote social and environmental responsibility. They use natural ingredients native to the Amazon basin to develop the products in their line. Amazonia Nutrients works hard to have effective social inclusion of local communities, reduction of poverty in the region and extraction of raw material ingredients with environmental responsibility. Also, a portion of proceeds from Amazonia benefits The Nature Conservancy to help preserve the pants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth.

If saving the planet wasn’t enough for Amazonia Nutrients they have made products that will please even the pickiest of beauty chicks. All the products I tested were were super rich and ultra hydrating. The Nourishing shampoo and Conditioner left my hair smelling delicious and clean. But my favorite product was the Hydration Mask. My hair was noticeably stronger and shiner after the 20 minute mask. And with the heavenly aroma of the products I felt like I was at an expensive spa. So indulgent.

I think we all would agree that nothing feels better then looking good and doing the right thing. Amazonia Nutrients make its so much easier and beautiful. Give it a try and when are done recycle the bottle. So, as you swing your healthy hair around take pride in the fact that you support a company that promotes social and environmental responsibility. And that not only looks good, it feels good!

By: Jaymes Powell Jr., Staff Writer, News Observer
About a year ago, Shelby Nichole grew annoyed with typical teen magazines. The 13-year-old Cary resident thought there was a need for a magazine that would give girls an outlet for all of their interests, beyond hair products. So she started Girlz on the Move! 360, a glossy, color quarterly she edits and designs herself. With contributions from other teens, Shelby’s magazine features interviews with notables like three-time Olympic medalist Katrina McClain, includes black history trivia and, on a lighter note, lets teens write in and discuss wardrobe issues.

“I felt girls should focus on their insides, not their outsides. So I wanted to let girls speak out. If they liked sports or politics, travel or anything, they can write to us instead of just focusing on one thing,” says Shelby, whose magazine has a current circulation of about 30. “We focus on their insides. On trying to make girls better people.” If Shelby sounds awfully deep for an eighth-grader, it’s no accident. From an early age, her parents, James and Sharon Rittman, exposed her to deep thinkers and deep ideas. In a corner of their home office, Shelby keeps books by Nikki Giovanni and Barack Obama, and a photograph featuring the middle-schooler standing with the presidential hopeful.

“Even when she was a little girl, she’d express her opinions about things in the news she didn’t like,” James Rittman says. “It’s a natural flow of activity for her.” “I’m very proud of her,” says Sharon Rittman, who helps Shelby with some of the magazine’s business decisions. “She’s a hard worker and she’s a visionary as far as what she wants to put out to this world.”

Once she decided to launch her magazine, Shelby contacted and hired an attorney to lock up her magazine’s name. She runs the publication with ad revenue, donations and her own savings account. She sells each issue for $3. Now on the fourth issue, Shelby says she is breaking even. She’s expanded her reach beyond the Triangle, distributing the magazine along the East Coast, in Central America and in Africa. Shelby has plans to launch a Web site for the magazine, giving her work a bigger potential audience. The need for Girlz on the Move! 360 became even more apparent in April, she says, after radio shock jock Don Imus used a slur to refer to a mostly African-American women’s basketball team. The remark hurt and offended her, and she wanted to let girls know they could do whatever they wanted.

“They don’t have to hide themselves. They don’t have to do any of the things Don Imus said — they can be themselves, they can put it in the magazine,” she says. She says she’s producing a world magazine — not just one for black girls — and it aims to change that world. In one issue, for instance, she interviewed an author whose book details how little girls in Kenya can’t afford to go to school. Shelby was so moved by the story she placed an order form for the book in the magazine. Now, for every three books sold via Girlz on the Move!, the author will put one Kenyan girl through school.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — He would surely make history. But would Sen. Barack Obama’s election as America’s first black president transform the nation? Obama says yes. Sen. Barack Obama tells the Urban League that his presidency would unleash a “transformation.” “The day I’m inaugurated, the country looks at itself differently. And don’t underestimate that power. Don’t underestimate that transformation,” Obama told the crowd Friday at the National Urban League convention in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Democrat from Illinois was answering a question about the racial polarization in America. Obama said “race is still an enormous factor in our society. But economics can overcome a lot of racial division.” The Democratic presidential hopeful also said that action, rather than high-minded discussions, is the way to end racial inequality.

Obama said “if we’re doing the right thing and making sure that our young people are going to school, that they’re getting good jobs, that they’re starting businesses, that they’re living in thriving neighborhoods and communities, that will do more to lessen racial tension, division and conflict than any set of roundtables and blue ribbon commissions are going to do.” Two of Obama’s main Democratic rivals, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, and former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, also spoke about racial inequality during the Urban League convention.

Clinton told the crowd that she rejects “a conversation about 1.4 million young men as a threat, as a headache, or as a lost cause. I reject the conversation about 1.4 million disappointments, failures, and casualties of a broken system. That is not who these young men are. I believe it is long past time for a new and different conversation. It is time for America to begin a conversation about 1.4 million future workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, community leaders, business executives.”

Edwards addressed affirmative action, saying “I would ensure that my administration was a representation of what affirmative action can be. I would make sure that my administration looks like America, and I mean, from the top to the bottom, all the way through the administration.” Edwards continued, saying “I would ensure that judges that I appointed to the federal bench and justices nominated to the United States Supreme Court believed in real equality and believed in the concept of affirmative action.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, also spoke at the National Urban League convention, but no Republican candidates came to the presidential forum. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee met with members of the league at a gathering Thursday night. This is the second forum with a large African-American crowd that the Democratic candidates attended this month. All of the Democrats showed up in Detroit on July 12 for the presidential forum at the NAACP convention.

Black voters are crucial to the Democratic Party. “Nearly nine in 10 blacks vote Democratic, making them the most reliable Democratic voting block in the country” said CNN Pollster Keating Holland. And they’ll play an important role in picking the next Democratic presidential nominee, especially in South Carolina and Florida, two early primary states.

In CNN’s most recent polls, Clinton and Obama are running neck and neck among black voters nationally, though Clinton was well ahead in South Carolina. But it’s still early and many voters haven’t made up their minds. “I’m not feeling that at this point either candidate would be that much of a difference” says Amy Johnson, an undecided black voter in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Source: CNN

Our new correspondent Saba, Ink got a chance to sit down and chat with Mya about her new album Liberation. So we got in some questions for the GG. So check out what our Washington D.C. homie, Mya had to say.

Saba, Ink: You did a performance on MadTV of “Whatever Bitch” where you Vogued. Who gave you the inspiration for that routine and do you go to the balls in your spare time?

MYA: Yes. I attend the balls or shows as we like to call them. The record I was singing at the time was more of a mid tempo tune “My Love Is Like Whoa”, it was something the audience could get into and it had shock value without being trashy and so I thought I could definitely play the part and have a great time doing Whatever Bitch.

Saba, Ink: Who was the one person in your life that gave you your fashion style?

MYA: My mother (laughing) she has been sewing her clothes since she was in High School. She made my prom dress and stage attire as well. She does other things now like …art and photography. But I still sketch, and send it to the seamstress, we’ll come up with a look for stage usually, usually don’t get stuff made on an everyday basis to walk around in, so it’s for stage usually.

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Some Highlights from Our August Issue…

and so much more…

A most promising young talent ready to take the fashion industry by storm, Mr. Veejay Floresca wastes no time in his efforts to make an impact. At the early age of 19, he was already professionally designing gowns for brides and entire entourages and has worked as a designer under Accent & Detail Apparel. He has also joined numerous competitions where his designs were noticed and applauded. Most notable of these competitions are Councours Internationale des Jeunes Createur de Mode 2005 in Paris, France where he represented the country; and the MEGA Young Designer’s Competition 2006 where he landed a spot as one of the finalists.

His most recent work was in ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Dream Academy, where his designs were worn by the Scholars in their Gala Shows and the Grand Finals Night. Veejay foresees that a modern and edgier look will be prominent this year. “It will have a very androgynous feel. A touch of romanticism but with a tougher look,” he explained. Elements of minimalism and asymmetry will also be evident, which will result in a sleeker fit. Veejay is now turning 22 years old and has recently opened his own atelier, Fashion Glory, Inc., located at 3608 Bautista St. cor. Edison St. San Isidro, Makati.

“Hot Ghetto Mess” just got messier. Executives at BET had hoped that Wednesday night’s premiere of the controversial series, inspired by the Hot Ghetto Mess website that highlights images of blacks in outrageous, often degrading situations and clothing, would defuse some of the uproar surrounding the show, which has been shadowed by reports of advertiser withdrawals and protests from bloggers who feared it would perpetuate negative African American images. The network was more than pleased with the viewer turnout. The series drew more than 800,000 viewers at 10:30 p.m. But instead of calming the storm of controversy, the debut added more fuel to the fire.

BET had announced earlier this week that the show’s original name, “Hot Ghetto Mess: We Got to Do Better,” would be chopped to “We Got to Do Better,” scrapping the hot-button title and putting more focus of the series’ intended mission of social commentary and satire. But that change was not reflected on the air. Though promos and on-air guides listed the series as “We Got to Do Better,” host Charlie Murphy greeted viewers with “Welcome to ‘Hot Ghetto Mess.’ ” He repeated that title several times during the half-hour show. In addition, the episode contained no disclaimers or announcements that the show was no longer formally called “Hot Ghetto Mess.”

The failure of BET to implement the promised title change puts a harsher spotlight on its difficulties with the series during a period when the network is trying to focus attention on a diverse and ambitious slate of programming designed to erase some of the channel’s historic stigma. The network has long been criticized for airing raunchy rap videos and scantily clad women. BET Entertainment President Reginald Hudlin has expressed frustration that the uproar over “Hot Ghetto Mess” was attracting more media attention than some of its new shows, such as the reality series “Baldwin Hills” and the religion-flavored “Meet the Faith.”

“Hot Ghetto Mess” will continue to be the show’s on-air title, the network said Thursday. The initial order of six episodes had been completed before the decision to change the name was made, and Murphy, a comedian who is on tour, was unavailable for re-shoots. “In terms of the title, we didn’t have time to make the necessary changes,” BET spokesperson Jeanine Liburd said. “But we did make adjustments in our marketing efforts and in our listings for the series.”

Liburd acknowledged that the first episode could have included a disclaimer informing viewers that the show’s title had formally been changed. The episode contained mostly slapstick and comic clips of blacks — and some white — engaged in untoward behavior. There were also several man-on-the-street interviews, with questions such as “Who’s richer, Jay-Z or Bill Gates?” and “How many blacks are there on the Supreme Court?”

Gina McCauley, creator of the What About Our Daughters blog that had protested the series before it aired, based on the website that inspired it, said she was not won over when she finally saw it: “I just cannot believe that BET would risk a $100-million slate of original programming to put on what was just a poorly put-together, unoriginal show.” She said that the clips on the premiere had been endlessly recycled on YouTube and other websites and that the man-on-the-street segments were a rip-off of the “Jaywalking” spots on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

Source: L.A. TIMES

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The fiancee of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man killed by police in a 50-shot barrage hours before his wedding, sued the New York City Police Department and several of its officers on Tuesday for wrongful death and civil rights violations. The fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, and two of Bell’s friends involved in the shooting, seek unspecified damages in the suit. It accuses five police officers of recklessness and negligence for firing at Bell and his two friends outside a strip club where they were holding a bachelor party.

The killing of Bell, 23, generated outrage among blacks in New York and sparked memories of previous cases of police shootings of unarmed black men. A white and a Hispanic detective face criminal manslaughter charges and a third, who is black, was charged with reckless endangerment. Two other officers were cleared of criminal charges. But the civil suit filed on Tuesday names all five officers as well as the police department, which the suit says had not adequately trained its officers and had “failed to tear down the ‘blue wall of silence’” surrounding police bias. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne declined to comment on the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn.

The five officers shot at Bell’s car around 4 a.m. on November 25 in the mistaken belief someone had gone to fetch a gun to settle a dispute inside the club in New York’s Queens borough, police said. Bell’s two friends, Joseph Guzman, who was shot 16 times, and Trent Benefield, also sued for false arrest and imprisonment and for emotional and physical distress. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the civil suit could not proceed until the criminal trial had finished.

Source: Reuters

ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) — Supporters of the immediate creation of a federal state stretching from Cape Town to Cairo waged a fierce debate at an African summit on Monday with leaders who want much slower integration. The African Union summit, on its second day, got down to heavyweight discussions on its only agenda item — the creation of a United States of Africa.

While almost all the 53 member nations agree with the goal of African integration and eventual unity, most of the summit leaders, led by South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, believe this must be a gradual process. But with impassioned leadership from Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, a smaller group wants a federal government to be established immediately as the only way to fight Africa’s poverty and myriad of other challenges including globalization.

“It is getting heated between Gadhafi and the southern Africans,” one delegate, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters as he stepped out of the conference hall. Gadhafi, describing himself as a soldier for Africa, is impatient with the slow pace of integration. He did not attend the summit’s opening session on Sunday and believes the decision over unity must be made by Africa’s masses and not leaders closeted in a conference hall. Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki, a member of the gradualist camp, expressed strong support for unity in his speech. “The advantages of Africa’s unification are enormous for our people. … A unified Africa will have stronger bargaining power,” he said.

Opinions mixed
But reflecting the views of many of the leaders, Kibaki added that at a recent conference on the issue in Kenya, “opinions were varied on the pace this process should take.” Kibaki said Africa’s eight regional economic communities should be the building blocs of a united continent and their integration should be accelerated.

He called for a pan-African language to unite the continent and advocated the use of Swahili — spoken in much of eastern Africa — saying its use as a common tongue “will assist in nurturing greater unity and cooperation amongst our people.” Even this issue illustrated the divisions standing in the way of unity, with north Africans calling for greater use of Arabic.

The summit leaders have come under criticism for largely ignoring pressing issues like Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe at this meeting to concentrate on unifying the continent. Many regard this as an unrealistic, if noble, dream. Skeptics point to decades of wars, coups and massacres that often sprang from ethnic and religious fault lines on a continent whose countries were artificially carved up by former colonial rulers. Alpha Oumar Konare, the AU’s top diplomat, supported an integrated continent in his summit opening speech on Sunday, but said many challenges must first be overcome, including the future of existing pan-African bodies and regional economic blocs.

Source: CNN/Reuters

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bickering broke out on Tuesday between the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over whether it would be appropriate to meet troublesome world leaders if either of them wins the November 2008 election. The two rival camps issued dueling memos in a sign of rising tensions between the two front-running Democrats who had sought to limit confrontations in the bid to take the White House from President George W. Bush’s Republicans.

Clinton, leader in the polls for her party’s nomination, and Obama, who has raised more money than Clinton, battled over who won a CNN/YouTube Democratic debate on Monday night in South Carolina. Clinton’s side sought to underscore her experience over Obama, who has served less than three years in the U.S. Senate, after Obama said at the debate he would be willing to meet leaders of Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba during his first year in office.

“There is a clear difference between the two approaches these candidates are taking,” said a Clinton campaign memo issued by a spokesman. “Senator Obama has committed to presidential-level meetings with some of the world’s worst dictators without preconditions during his first year in office.” The memo was entitled “strength and experience.” It said Clinton, a second term senator from New York, is committed to vigorous diplomacy but “understands that it is a mistake to commit the power and prestige of America’s presidency years ahead of time by making such a blanket commitment.”

At the debate, Clinton had said “we are not going to have our president meet with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez and the presidents of North Korea, Iran and Syria until we know better what the way forward would be.” That is a change from what she said in April, the Obama campaign insisted in a memo it circulated to reporters entitled, “Obama wins debate and commander-in-chief test.” The memo included a comment from Clinton in April when she said, “I think it is a terrible mistake for our president to say he will not talk with bad people.”

“She reversed herself last night, disagreeing with Senator Obama’s assertion that we should use every tool at the president’s disposal to address problems before they become threats,” the Obama memo said. The Clinton campaign begged to differ, organizing a conference call for reporters with Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state for President Bill Clinton, Hillary’s husband. “I would never have gotten out of the debate last night that there was any change in position,” Albright said. Obama’s campaign described the Illinois senator’s diplomacy as a “tough but smart approach,” and subtly tried to portray Clinton as an old guard leader, saying his approach “is exactly the kind of change and new thinking that excites voters about an Obama presidency.”

Source: Reuters

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The yellow school bus rumbles through vacant lots and past demolished buildings, full of people who have paid $20 for a tour of what was once among the most dangerous areas of this or any other city in the United States.

But for the woman with the microphone, this “Ghetto Bus Tour” isn’t just another way to make a buck from tourists. It’s the last gasp in her crusade to tell a different story about Chicago’s notorious housing projects, something other than well-known tales about gang violence so fierce that residents slept in their bathtubs to avoid bullets.

“I want you to see what I see,” says Beauty Turner, after leading the group off the bus to a weedy lot where the Robert Taylor Homes once stood. “To hear the voices of the voiceless.” Turner, a former Robert Taylor Homes resident, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Chicago Housing Authority’s $1.6 billion “Plan for Transformation,” which since the late 1990s has demolished 50 of the 53 public housing high-rises and replaced them with mixed-income housing.

Officials paint a different picture
City officials have heralded the plan. But Turner believes the city that once left residents to be victimized by violent drug-dealing gangs is now pushing those same people from their homes without giving them all a place to go.

“I have people becoming homeless behind this plan, people that’s living on top of each other with relatives,” said Turner, who has given informal tours for years before the community newspaper she works for began renting the bus in January. “For some it has improved their conditions, but for the multitude of many it has not.”

Chicago Housing Authority officials say Turner glosses over the failures of public housing. They say the 25,000 units being built or rehabbed are enough for the number of people whose buildings were demolished. “She is running out of bad things to show people,” housing authority spokesman Bryan Zises said. “She is taking a circuitous route so she doesn’t have to drive by the new stuff,” including, he adds, Turner’s own home in one of the new mixed-income communities. On the tours, Turner highlights strong, black women like herself who raised their children in the projects.

Distrust runs deep
Turner takes the group by the home of one such woman, 63-year-old Carol Wallace. When the group makes its way into the dreary looking low-slung building that has not been rehabbed, Wallace tells of her suspicions that she and a lot of people like her are going to be left out of the “Plan for Transformation.”

“Overall, I think it’s just a way of getting us out of here,” said Wallace, standing in front of the door and iron security door she lives behind. “Because they’re not letting everyone back in.” allace’s home stands in stark contrast with the nostalgic picture Turner paints of the old projects. She recalls when parents like her kept an eye on the neighbor’s kids, a time when the projects shined every bit as much as the buildings now going up in their place and lawns were kept as neat as putting greens.

Glossing over the violence?
She downplays the years of violence, saying that all those news reports distorted what day-to-day life was like. All the horror stories that you heard about in the newspapers, it was not like that at all,” she said.

But the stories loom over the tour. They are impossible to forget. By the time the city started pulling down or rehabilitating the projects in the late 1990s, each one had its own headlines that spoke to the failure of public housing in Chicago.

At Cabrini-Green a boy was struck by a bullet and killed as he walked hand-in-hand with his mother. At the Ida B. Wells project, a 5-year-old boy was dangled and then deliberately dropped to his death from a 14-story window by two other children.

And at Robert Taylor, where the illegal drug trade thrived, a rookie police officer was shot to death on a stakeout outside a gang drug base. Turner could even add her own story. She saw a teenage boy shot on the very day she arrived at the Robert Taylor Homes in 1986.

Message confounds many
Her approach had some on the tour shaking their heads. Are they romanticizing these communities?” asked Mark Weinberg, a 44-year-old Chicago lawyer. “These were drug-ridden, violent neighborhoods where people wanted to live a good life but couldn’t.”

D. Bradford Hunt, a Roosevelt University professor writing a book about Chicago’s public housing, said he appreciated that Turner told the story from the perspective of tenants but wasn’t quite sure what to make of the commentary. People got killed,” he said. “You don’t make that story up.”

Still, Turner says the city has a duty to keep the community that law-abiding citizens of public housing built up over the decades, despite their challenges. That is what she fears is being lost, and why she’ll keep giving the bus tour.

“People that come in don’t want to look across the street and see seven little black churches in a three-block radius,” she said. “What they want to see is a Dominick’s and sushi joints and a Starbucks.”

Source: AP & MSNBC