Our America

LeAlan Jones, who with David Isay and Lloyd Newman produced the astonishing Ghetto 101 and Remorse documentaries for NPR, spoke today at school to the 3-12th grades.

The most important thing he had to say to all of us was that he doesn’t think less of the students here because of their privilege, but he would think less of them if they choose to do nothing with the gifts that they have to change the world around them.  With all the advantages that the students have here, there should be someone who emerges that can change the very simple problems that plague the city.  In the same way, he said, he would think less of someone without all these advantages who still does nothing to change their own life for the better.

Chicago Photo by Frozenchipmunk