Increasing the peace in Chicago
Berto Aguayo grew up in Back of the Yards, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. He’d always heard that to “make it” meant to “make it out of the hood.” To Berto, that didn’t sit right. He wanted to help bring his neighborhood the peace and resources its residents deserved.
After graduating from college, Berto returned to Back of the Yards to begin his Increase the Peace initiative—an organization that promotes peace through leadership development, community organizing, and advocates for solutions that tackle the leading factors of violence.
Berto continues to live out this work through violence interruption, maintaining a positive physical presence on the streets to engage the communities through positive loitering, marches, peace rallies, overnight campouts, and car parades. Hear him explain more below.
Active Community Leader: Berto Aguayo
Inside the Life of A Violence Interrupter
During an especially grueling summer in Chicago, we spent a month capturing a glimpse of Pastor Tracey Lee’s day-to-day life as a violence interrupter, a pastor, and a supermom. Across several weeks, we witnessed the faith, love, and unyielding hope this young Black woman brought to her community in Englewood, as she worked to make our City safer.
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When he was just 16, Billy Moore made a tragic mistake, taking the life of another young Chicagoan. After serving a 20-year sentence and losing his own son to gun violence, Billy is devoting his life to ensuring that other young men live lives of opportunity, rather than regret.
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To some, gun violence and broken trust between police and community members seem like problems that are simply too big to fix, but not to Willie Barney. Willie shares how his collaborative has used a holistic approach to reduce gun violence in Omaha and build stronger police-community relations.
Learn more![ARNE Q_A 2 - 8AA3F5FB-66CF-4537-8A61-DC60956AD298[3]](http://images.ctfassets.net/l7h59hfnlxjx/6jny7WJW6eisN5Mj3WLx7i/8cb6f01e7f6e4e83215510a4391c2867/ARNE-Q_A-2-8AA3F5FB-66CF-4537-8A61-DC60956AD2983-scaled-e1601954839647.jpg)
When Arne Duncan left his job as CEO of Chicago Public Schools in 2009 to serve as Secretary of Education, he thought he’d seen gun violence in the City at its worst. He was wrong. By founding the violence prevention organization, Chicago CRED, he’s attempting to overcome a collective failure that has haunted him for years, with promising results. Read about what he’s learned, what’s working—and what we all can do to help.
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To create lasting change in Chicago, the violence prevention organization Chicago CRED works with individuals most at risk, in the communities where gun violence is most concentrated. We had the chance to sit down with a few members of their team and their partners at the MAAFA Redemption Project to hear how they’ve been able to curb gun violence by investing in these young men.
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Getting Involved and Staying Engaged
In the Englewood neighborhood, Joseph Williams is also known as the “Black Mr. Rogers.” His community activism is rooted in helping fathers connect with their kids through literacy and maintain an active role in their lives. Recently, when a tense situation arose between community members and the police, Joseph stepped in to mediate—using the deep understanding of his community to advocate for a peaceful resolution. Watch his conversation with Michael Strautmanis, Chief Engagement Officer at the Obama Foundation.
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Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Will Calloway became all too familiar with the disinvestment and systemic discrimination that create the conditions for gun violence to surface. But as Will saw more and more lives cut short, he was inspired to take action.
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Increasing the Peace in Chicago
Berto Aguayo grew up in Back of the Yards, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. He’d always heard that to “make it” meant to “make it out of the hood.” To Berto, that didn’t sit right. He wanted to help bring his neighborhood the peace and resources its residents deserved.
Learn more
