>>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO CHICAGO TONIGHT: BLACK VOICES.

I AM BRANDIS FRIEDMAN.

TONIGHT, A CONVERSATION WITH A REVEREND, WHO WROTE A BOOK ABOUT A SEARCH FOR JUSTICE FOR THIS TEEN AGING LYNCHING VICTIM, EMMETT TILL.

>>> HE WANTS TO FIGHT FOR FAIR AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHERE THAT FIGHT STANDS TODAY.

>>> BLACK STUDENTS ARE LEAVING AND GOING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS.

WE ARE LEARNING WHY.

>>> A DOCUMENTARY ON THE VICTORY FOR REPRESENTATIONS.

IT IS SET TO AIR .

WE ARE MEETING ONE OF THE SUBJECTS.

ALL THAT IS COMING UP BUT OUR STORY IS THE LAST LIVING WITNESS TO LYNCHING TELLS HIS STORY RIGHT AFTER THIS.

>> CHICAGO TONIGHT: BLACK VOICES IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY FIFTH THIRD BANK AND BY THE SUPPORT OF THESE DONORS.

>>> AS THEY HONOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., A BOOK ABOUT A SEMINAL EVENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY, ONE THAT MOTIVATED HIS FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.

IT CAME AFTER A FEW DAYS OF TRAVEL.

EMMETT TILL -- THEY ARE GIVING A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF THOSE TERRIBLE DAYS WITH HIS CO-AUTHOR, CHRISTOPHER BENSON.

HE ALSO GIVES AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE DECADES OF INVESTIGATION INTO LYNCHING.

I SAT DOWN WITH BOTH OF THEM TO TALK ABOUT WHY THEY SAY EMMETT TILL'S A STORY MUST CONTINUE TO BE TOLD.

>> YOU TELL ABOUT HOWARD, WHO WENT AROUND, TELLING THE STORY OF EMMETT TILL'S LYNCHING AND HIS DEATH AND AFTER THE TRIAL.

WE KNOW OTHERS IN MISSISSIPPI -- HOW DID THE SPEECHES HE WENT AROUND GIVING, HOW DID THOSE INFLUENCE DOSTER KING, AND THEN THE MOVEMENT?

>> WITH HOWARD, HE HAD THIS ORGANIZATION THAT WAS ACTUALLY BIGGER THAN THE DOUBLE NAACP AT THE TIME IN THE '50s.

HE WAS QUITE INFLUENTIAL.

HE WOULD GO OUT AND TALK ABOUT THE EMMETT TILL CASE, WHICH HE PARTICIPATED IN, NOT ONLY IN THE VISITORS FROM OUT OF TOWN, BUT THE BLACK REPORTERS COULD NOT STAY ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT HE GAVE SPEECHES.

ONE WAS AT THE CHURCH IN MONTGOMERY AND IN ATTENDANCE WAS ROSA PARKS AND, OF COURSE, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.. >> REVEREND PARKER, WE KNOW A LOT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT EMMETT TILL.

YOU ARE THE LAST LIVING WITNESS TO SEE HIS KIDNAPPING.

THIS IS A CRUCIAL PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

WHAT YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR STORY?

>> SO MUCH -- I AM HOPING THAT BEING AN EYEWITNESS, THAT I CAN GET SOMEONE TO BELIEVE ME BEING TRUTHFUL.

THAT IS WHAT THEY SAID.

I HOPE I CAN BRING SOME FRUIT TO THAT STORY.

>> A LOT OF THE STORY, YOU SPOKE, WORKING TO CLEAR YOUR COUSINS NAME.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT AND WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU.

YOUR RIGHT AWAY, AFTER HE WAS KILLED, A LOT OF MAGAZINES DISTURBED ME AND THEY HAVE DISTURBED ME FOR 67 YEARS, HOW THEY PORTRAYED HIM, SO I HAVE HAD TO LIVE WITH THAT, THE BETRAYAL THEY GAVE HIM ALL THESE YEARS AND THAT IS THE THING I WANT MOST TO SEE DONE.

>> ONE PART I FOUND INTERESTING IS THAT SECTION OF THE BOOK, WHEN YOU DISCUSSED THE LOOK MAGAZINE PIECE AND HOW IT WAS FAMOUS BECAUSE IT REVEALED -- IT ALSO REVEALED A LOT ABOUT THE WAY OF LIFE AT THE TIME AND THE WAY PEOPLE THOUGHT.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

>> WHO DID NOT LIVE DURING THAT TIME, WHO DO NOT HAVE AN IMAGINATION.

DURING THAT TIME, I HAD NO PROTECTION.

YOU COULD BE KILLED AND IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE.

THOSE ARE THE CONDITIONS WE LIVE IN.

PEOPLE GOT -- THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP.

YOU GET KILLED FOR A " RECKLESS EYEBALL."

>> A WHITE WOMAN.

>> THEY HAVE PROTECTED THAT SYSTEM UNTIL THE END.

EVEN NOW, IT IS BEING PROTECTED.

>> THE STORY OF 20 -- EMMETT TILL, AS HORRIBLE AS HIS LYNCHING WAS, IT IS ABOUT THE EXPRESSION OF POWER IN THIS COUNTRY AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE TRY TO INCLUDE IN THIS BOOK IS THE CONTEXT FOR THE STORY.

YES, THE FACTS ARE THERE.

WHEELER PARKER JR. HAD A HORRIBLE LIFE, DEALING WITH THAT .

BUT THERE ARE POLITICAL CONTEXTS.

WE HAVE TO SEE THAT IN THE CONTEXT.

EMMETT TILL AND WHEELER PARKER JR.

WENT DOWN TO MISSISSIPPI AFTER WHITE PEOPLE IN DELTA WERE UP IN ARMS, THING THEY WOULD HAVE TO SHARE POWER .

THEY WERE PUSHING BACK.

THAT IS THE ENVIRONMENT THAT EMMETT TILL WALKED INTO, UNPREPARED.

>> YOU ALSO DOCUMENT IN THIS BOOK THE PATHWAY TO TWO LAWS THAT YOU, THE ACTIVISTS, THE FAMILY WORKED ON.

THE CRIMINAL RIGHT ACT AND THE ANTI-LYNCHING ACT, WHICH WAS JUST PASSED RECENTLY.

TELL ME ABOUT THOSE.

>> FOR ONE THING, IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE PEOPLE IN POWER TO MAKE A STATEMENT, THAT THE CRIMES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AND THEY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

IN THE 1950s, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT.

THE STATEMENT OF THE LAWS ARE IMPORTANT BUT THE ENFORCEMENT IS ALSO IMPORTANT.

SYMBOLICALLY, WE SEE SOME SIGNIFICANCE IN THE FACT THAT THESE TWO LAWS CARRY EMMETT TILL'S NAME.

FROM NOW ON, WHENEVER ANYBODY IS CHARGED UNDER THESE LAWS, IT WILL BE EMMETT TILL SPEAKING.

YOU SEE, THAT HE CAN'T ACCUSE PEOPLE NOW OF THE HORRIBLE CRIMES HE HAD TO SUFFER.

WE THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT.

IT IS AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED THAT.

>> YOU WRITE A BIT ABOUT THE EARLY DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH, STRUGGLING WITH TALKING ABOUT IT AND YOU NEVER REALLY STEPPED UP TO SPEAK UP UNTIL THE MID-80s, WHEN THEY ASKED YOU TO.

WHAT CHANGED THAT MADE YOU, A, START THINKING ABOUT IT, BUT THEN HOW DID YOU FIND, I GUESS, THE STRENGTH TO KEEP SPEAKING ABOUT IT ALL THIS TIME?

THE DETERMINATION?

>> THERE WAS NO NEED WHATSOEVER TO SPEAK ABOUT IT BECAUSE THERE WAS MY GRANDFATHER AND THEY WERE GOING ALL OVER.

THERE WAS NO NEED FOR US.

WE DID NOT WANT TO BE IN THE VIEW.

IS 30 YEARS LATER, IT IS SO MIND-BOGGLING THAT -- YOU FEEL SO HELPLESS TO GET THE TRUTH OUT.

>> AS I SAID, IT IS PAINFUL TO SEE HOW EMMETT TILL WAS DESCRIBED BY SOMEONE WHO COULD NOT POSSIBLY HAVE KNOWN HIM AND PLAYING ON THE STEREOTYPES OF A YOUNG BLACK KID COMING OUT OF CHICAGO.

THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE ATTEMPT TO CORRECT AND TO HUMANIZE, TO SHOW WHAT WE LOST IN RESPECT TO EMMETT TILL'S PRECIOUS LIFE AND THE GIFTS HE HAD TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD AND TO USE THAT AS A REPRESENTATIVE CASE OF WHAT RACISM HAS COST US IN THIS COUNTRY.

>> LET'S TAKE A BEAT ON THAT FOR A MOMENT AND TALK ABOUT EMMETT TILL.

YOU ALL WERE BEST FRIENDS GROWING UP.

WHO WAS HE?

YOU CALLED HIM BOBO.

>> FRANCIS.

HE WAS A NATURAL LEADER, DEFINITELY.

>> REVEREND PARKER, YOU WRITE ABOUT BEING, OBVIOUSLY, THE LAST WITNESS.

YOUR UNCLE SIMEON LEFT US SOME YEARS AGO.

YOU FEEL LIKE THE LAST MAN STANDING , OBVIOUSLY, THE LAST MAN STANDING AS FAR AS THOSE WHO WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED, BUT IN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE, PARTICULARLY FOR HIM.

CONSIDERING THE UPRISINGS WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND THE MARCHES AND THE DEMONSTRATIONS AND THE FIGHTS, DO YOU STILL FEEL, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE LAST MAN STANDING, FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE?

>> I HAVE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT IT -- THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES BEING TOLD.

IT FELT TO ME, WITHOUT GIVING IT ANY THOUGHT, THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AND THEN I REALIZED I AM THE LAST PERSON.

IT JUST FELL ON MY SHOULDERS AND THE STORY IS MINE TO TELL BECAUSE I LIVED IT.

THERE IS NO PROBLEM THERE.

I NEVER GAVE MUCH THOUGHT TO BEING THE LAST PERSON.

I NEVER GAVE MUCH THOUGHT THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR THE STORY UNTIL I FOUND OUT HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO PEOPLE.

IT DID NOT IMPRINT ON ME LIKE THAT BECAUSE I WAS NEVER A MAJOR PLAYER.

I WAS JUST A PERSON WHO SURVIVED TO TELL THE STORY.

>> REVEREND PARKER, ONE LAST QUESTION.

WHAT DOES JUSTICE FOR EMMETT TILL LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

>> THAT IS A BIG QUESTION.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

AND IN OUR SENSE, IT IS TO SERVE HUMANITY.

I THINK ALL THINGS WILL CALM ABOUT -- AT THE SAME TIME, I GO BACK TO THE WAY HE DIED AND HOW HE SUFFERED AND THE SCREAMING AND THE BEATING AND -- SO, IT IS A MIXED EMOTION I HAVE, BUT WE ARE CONTENT THAT WE ARE PEOPLE OF FAITH AND WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE AND WE PRACTICED IT AND THAT IS WHAT WE LIVE BY.

SILAC CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BOOK.

>> THAT IS AN HONOR TO SPEAK WITH HIM.

OUR THANKS TO THIS GROUP IN ILLINOIS FOR HOSTING THAT CONVERSATION.

THE BOOK IS CALLED A FEW DAYS WITH TROUBLE, REVELATIONS FROM THE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE FOR MY COUSIN AND BEST FRIEND, EMMETT TILL.

YOU CAN SEE AN EXPERT ON OUR WEBSITE.

>>> THEY MADE HISTORY IN 2021 WHEN IT BECAME THE FIRST MUNICIPALITY IN THE U.S. TO PASS AN OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT REPARATIONS PROGRAM FOR BLACK RESIDENTS.

THE VITREOUS PLACE ALONGSIDE OF NATIONAL EFFORT IN THE BIG PAYBACK.

WE SPOKE WITH THE FORMER EVEREST AN OLDER WOMAN WHO LED THE PUSH FOR REPARATIONS ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY WHICH IS SET TO AIR.

>> THE BIG PAYBACK IS A DOCUMENTARY CENTERING THE COMPLEXITIES OF ADVANCING REPARATIONS, SPECIFICALLY LOCAL REPARATIONS WHILE ALSO PARALLELING THE WORK THAT IS HAPPENING ON A NATIONAL LEVEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF SHEILA JACKSON LEE AS SHE -- IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL HONOR TO BE ABLE TO SHARE AND BOWED TRANSPARENCY TO WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A LOCAL LEADER WHILE WORKING A JOB AND MANAGING FAMILIES AND SOMETIMES MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF YOUR FAMILIES, CHILDREN'S AND PARENTS.

AM GRATEFUL I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN HOW IT HAS INSPIRED OTHER LOCAL LEADERS TO LEAD AND TAKE ACTION IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.

MY HOPE IS THAT THEY WILL SEE THE DOCUMENTARIES AND THE NEXT STEPS ARE ACTIONS, ACTIONS THAT ARE MEASURABLE, SETTING A SMART GOAL THAT IS ATTAINABLE, REACHING OUT FOR COLLABORATORS AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE GOAL FOR REPARATION AND REPARATIVE JUSTICE OR EMPOWERING BLACK COMMUNITIES, FOR OVERCOMING HISTORY, OUR HISTORY OF HARM AND OUR HISTORY OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY OF BLACK PEOPLE, AND OTHER HISTORIC AND CURRENT INJUSTICES THAT WE DEAL WITH TODAY.

>> THE BITPAY MATT PREMIERES ON WTTW JANUARY 16th AT 10:00.

>>> CARRYING ON DR. KING'S LEGACY WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

>>> WHEN MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

CAME TO CHICAGO IN 1965, HIS -- MANY BLACK RESIDENTS WERE FORCED TO LIVE IN THESE SLUMS.

FOR 17 MONTHS, HE FOUGHT WITH BOYCOTTS, RALLIES, AND MARCHES.

HE WAS IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HE WAS STRUCK IN THE HEAD WITH A ROCK IN.

WHILE HE GAINED SOME CONCESSIONS FROM THE MAYOR, HIS CAMPAIGN WAS A SPARK THAT LED TO THE PASSAGE OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT IN 1968, NOT LONG AFTER HIS ASSASSINATION.

NEARLY 6 DECADES LATER, HOWEVER, ADVOCATES ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO ALL OF ITS RESIDENTS.

JOINING US WITH MORE ARE ABRAHAM LACEY FROM THE FAR SOUTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THEN JOE AND KANNER OF LONDON TOWNHOUSES AND ROBIN MOORE, THE DIRECTOR OF HOLISTIC SOCIAL SERVICES AT LAWNDALE CHRISTIAN LEGAL CENTER.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

JoANN, YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT OF A COOPERATIVE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON THE SOUTH SIDE, LONDON TOWNHOUSES, AS WE SAID.

NOT LONG AFTER DOCTOR KING WAS IN CHICAGO, TELL US WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR BLACK CHICAGOANS TO FIND HOUSING?

>> IT WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.

AS YOU KNOW, REDLINING WAS TAKING PLACE.

YOU HAD A SPECIFIC AREA THAT BLACK PEOPLE COULD LIVE IN, ON THE SOUTH OR THE WEST SIDE.

MANY OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE CAN LIVE IN NOW ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO US, AND AT THE TIME, I WAS A YOUNG, MARRIED GIRL, JUST COMING OUT OF COLLEGE, AND LONDON TOWNHOUSES HAD SOME MODEL HOMES AND IT WAS LIKE A SUBURB, AND I DID NOT UNDERSTAND COOPERATIVE HOUSING AT THAT TIME AND IT WAS A NICE PLACE TO GET STARTED, YOU KNOW, WITH LIVING AS A MARRIED PERSON.

>> IT WAS A BRASH HEIR TO FIND THAT?

>> YES.

THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF KITCHENETTES AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

IT WAS -- >> YOU'RE STILL IN LONDON TOWN, SO IT HAS STILL WORKED OUT FOR YOU.

WE WILL CONTACT -- IS NOT THE SAME?

WHAT IS THE STATE OF AFFORDABLE PERSPECTIVES?

>> IT IS STILL A CRISIS, ESPECIALLY IN THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.

WE ARE STILL 150,000 UNITS SHORT.

IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS MORE OF AN EFFORT TO BUILD IN AFFLUENT AREAS.

THERE WAS A STUDY THAT WAS DONE MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO ABOUT 70% OF THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS WERE BUILT FOR WORKING-CLASS FAMILIES.

NOW, CONTRAST THAT FOR TODAY, IT IS ONLY 8% BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY BUILDING IN AREAS WHERE THE MOSTLY OF FLUID ARE LIVING IN.

WE HAVE PEOPLE -- WE NEED INVESTMENTS.

WE HAVE GOTTEN SOME FROM MAYOR LIGHTFOOT BUT WE HAVE SUCH A WAY TO GO WITH MORE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

>> THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH AT THE TIME EITHER?

>> EXACTLY PITCHER ROBIN MOORE, YOU WORK WITH A POPULATION THAT HAS HISTORICALLY HAD A HARD TIME FOUNDING HOUSING, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED.

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS?

>> THERE HAS BEEN IN JUSTICE INVOLVES.

YOU ARE DEALING WITH THOSE WITH BAD CRIMINAL RECORDS AND BACKGROUNDS AND FOR MANY LANDLORDS, IT BECOMES A FEAR TO HOUSE THOSE COMING OUT OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND, REALLY, IT JUST ADDS TO THE BARRIER FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS.

>> EXPLAIN FOR US, IF YOU WOULD, THE CO-OP MODEL AND WHY PEOPLE MIGHT WANT TO INVESTIGATE IT MORE AS AN OPTION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

>> WE CALL IT HAVING A HOUSE WITHOUT THE HASSLE.

ONE OF THE BEST KEPT SECRETS, I THINK, IS COOPERATIVE HOUSING, WHERE WE ARE A NONPROFIT.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS TO PROVIDE HOUSING , ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, TO LOWER AND MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES AND WHATEVER CONSTITUTES A FAMILY, YOU SAY.

THAT IS WHAT WE DO, AND YOU ARE A MEMBER OF A CORPORATION FIRST.

IT IS LONDON TOWNHOUSES COOPERATIVE INCORPORATED.

WE PURCHASE A SHARE INTO THE CORPORATION AND AS A MEMBER OF THE CORPORATION, THEY ARE STOCKHOLDERS AND THEY HAVE A SAY IN THE GOVERNANCE AND, YOU KNOW, THE RUNNING OF THE COOPERATIVE.

>> YOU WERE ELECTED BY YOUR NEIGHBORS?

>> YES, I WAS ELECTED BY THE MEMBERSHIP.

>> YOU ARE WORKING TO GET MORE HOUSING BUILT.

HOW WOULD YOU GRADE THEIR EFFORTS, SOME OF THE CITIES EFFORTS?

HOW WOULD YOU GRADE THAT?

>> I THINK THERE IS, IF I WOULD SIGN A LETTER GRADE, IT WOULD BE MORE OF A B BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE SOME SORT OF SIGNIFICANT STRIDES.

THESE ARE DECADES OF ISSUES THAT YOU HAVE TO SORT OF UNRAVEL, BUT I CAN STILL SAY IT IS STILL CHALLENGING TO GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING DONE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THE OTHER KIND OF HOUSING ON THE NORTH SIDE IS.

IT IS STILL VERY CHALLENGING, BUT IT IS WORTH THE SORT OF RISK TO DO IT BECAUSE WHEN WE ARE DECIMATING OUR COMMUNITIES OUT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, YOU START TO LOSE AMENITIES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE LOST AN ENTIRE WARD BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF POPULATION, BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE ADEQUATE HOUSING.

WHEN YOU LOSE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE WORKING CLASS, YOU STOP -- YOU LOSE THE GROCERY STORES AND THE PARKS AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

ALL THOSE GET AFFECTED WHEN YOU DO NOT FOCUS ON THOSE THINGS.

THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO START COLLAPSING.

>> ROBIN, GIVEN THE ECONOMIC DIVIDE IN CHICAGO, WHY SHOULD WEALTHIER RESIDENTS WITH MORE STABLE HOUSING, WHY SHOULD THEY CARE ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS?

>> WELL, WHAT I WOULD SAY, EVEN WITH THE JUSTICE INVOLVED POPULATION IN MIND, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ARE WITHOUT HOUSING, YOU ARE DEALING WITH THOSE MENTAL STRESSORS THAT YOU OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE.

AND THAT IS WHY, YOU KNOW, JUST LISTENING TO THE OTHER PANELISTS, I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT HEARING OF THE EFFORTS AND THINGS THEY ARE DOING TO ENSURE AND HELP INCREASE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING HERE IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

I KNOW WITH US, WE ARE GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE CHICAGO LOW INCOME HOUSING TRUST FUND, WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO WORK WITH THEM AND GET HOUR INDIVIDUALS INTO THE HOUSING THAT THEY NEED AND I CAN SAY, IT IS NOTHING LIKE A YOUNG MAN AND EVEN A YOUNG MAN AND HIS FAMILY WHO ARE OUT OF THE SYSTEM AND THEY WALK INTO THEIR FIRST APARTMENT AND BE GIVEN TO THE KEYS TO THAT APARTMENT BECAUSE WHAT IT DOES IS IT CAN LITERALLY CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF THEIR LIFE AND THE DIRECTION THAT THEY ARE HEADED IN.

>> STABILIZING FACTORS.

WE HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DONE OR SEE THE CITY DO TO INCREASE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

>> THEY NEED TO PUT MORE HOUSING -- THEY NEED TO GET MORE SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS.

THE OTHER IS THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE COLLABORATION, NOT ONLY WITH THE CITY, NOT JUST ON THE CITY, BUT ON THE COUNTY AND THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

IT SHOULD BE A COLLABORATION OF WHAT IS GOING TO BE MORE INTUITIVE TO GET MORE RESOURCES IN TERMS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THIS IS GOING TO WORK.

THESE CHERRY PICKED PROJECTS WE DO AND WONDERFUL AREA OR LOCATION, IT WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

IF YOU DO NOT GET A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT, AS YOU SEE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, AND MORE AFFLUENT AREAS, YOU MUST DO THE SAME THINGS IN TERMS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

>> THANK YOU JoANNE AND LACEY.

>>> CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS WORKING TO COMBAT THE CLIMBING ENROLLMENT AND FUNDING CHALLENGES.

A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES OF COLOR ARE CHOOSING TO LEAVE THE DISTRICT.

>> Reporter: A MOTHER OF FIVE CHOSE TO KEEP HER 3-YEAR-OLD SON IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS BUT MOVED HER 15-YEAR-OLD TO A CHARTER SCHOOL.

THEY SAY HER AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS NO LONGER OFFERS MANY EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AS WHEN SHE WAS A STUDENT AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY ACADEMY 20 YEARS AGO.

SHE SAYS SHE FEELS THE CHARTER SCHOOL OFFERS MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HER DAUGHTER.

>> THEY HAVE A PROGRAM THAT HELPS STUDENTS WHO KEEP THEIR GPA UP AND THEY ARE DOING GOOD IN SCHOOLS.

THEY PAY FOR COLLEGE.

>> Reporter: SHE GOES SIX MILES AFTER DROPPING OFF HER SON.

>> I HAVE TO DROP HIM OFF HERE AND HURRY UP AND GET HER TO THIS AREA, SO SHE CAN BE ON TIME.

I DO NOT ALWAYS MAKE IT.

>> Reporter: IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR PARENTS TO LITERALLY GO THE EXTRA MILE.

YOU CAN SEE THE FULL STORY PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STUDENTS AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ON OUR WEBSITE.

>>> THAT IS OUR SHOW FOR TONIGHT.

VISIT WTTW.COM/NEWS FOR THE LATEST.

FROM ALL OF US AT CHICAGO TONIGHT: BLACK VOICES, I AM BRANDIS FRIEDMAN.

STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.