>>> GOOD EVENING, HAPPY HOLIDAY WEEKEND AND WELCOME TO "CHICAGO TONIGHT," I'M BRANDIS FRIEDMAN, ON THE SHOW TONIGHT, A NEW STUDY FROM UIC HIGHLIGHTS THE DRAMATIC RACIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS OVER HOW AMERICANS THINK OF THEIR NATIONAL IDENTITY.

>> WHERE DO I FIND MY LATINO BROTHERS?

>> A NEW AMERICAN LEGION POST WITH A DISTINCTLY LATINO IDENTITY.

REVISITING WRITER JAMES BALDWIN'S WORDS.

>> AND AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN ASKING PARTICIPANT TOSS CHOOSE TO REFUSE SINGLE USE PLASTIC THIS JULY.

WE SHARE EASY TIPS TO GO PLASTIC FREE.

>>> FIRST OFF IT'S NO SECRET THAT AMERICA HAS BEEN DIVIDED ACROSS PARTISAN AND RACIAL LINES.

BUT A NEW SURVEY ILLUSTRATES JUST HOW DEEP SOME OF THOSE DIVISIONS ARE, HOW DIFFERENTLY SOME PEOPLE THINK OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A GOOD AMERICAN AND HOW PEOPLE SEE THE ROLE OF GUNS AND VIOLENCE IN POLITICAL LIFE.

JOINING US NOW, HAVE THE STUDY'S CO-AUTHOR, EYE SACK POLL LETTERED.

THE STUDY LOOKED AT WHAT PEOPLE VALUED WHEN THEY THINK OF BEING AN AMERICAN.

THERE WAS AGREEMENT ON VOTING RIGHTS, RESPECT FOR INSTITUTIONS, FREE SPEECH AND RESOLVING POLITICAL CONFLICT PEACEFULLY.

BUT THERE WAS DISAGREEMENT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BORN IN THE U.S., BEING CHRISTIAN, AND OWNING FIRE ARMS.

HOW DEEP ARE THE DIVIDES THAT YOU FOUND WHEN IT COMES TO AMERICAN IDENTITY?

>> WELL, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE IS A GENERAL BROAD AGREEMENT ON KEY PRINCIPALS SUCH AS RESPECT FOR INSTITUTION ARE AS BEING IMPORTANT FOR WHAT MAKES FOR A TRUE AMERICAN.

AND ALSO PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT OF POLITICAL CONFLICT.

BUT, WE SEE THAT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY VALUE BOTH CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES AS PART OF THE AMERICAN IDENTITY.

WHAT MAKES A TRUE AMERICAN IS BEING CHRISTIAN AND BEING BORN IN THE UNITED STATES.

AND WHAT WE SEE IS ACTUALLY THAT IT IS FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS MORE SO THAN WHITES, WHERE WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY AND NAYTIVITY, BUT WHAT REALLY DIVIDES PEOPLE IS ACROSS PARTISAN LINES.

WHAT WE SEE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE RACIAL DIFFERENCES, THE DEEPER CLEAVAGES ARE BETWEEN DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS IN HOW IMPORTANT THEY THINK NATIVITY AND CHRISTIANITY ARE AS PART OF IDENTITY.

>>> ISAAC THERE'S ALSO A DISAGREEMENT OF CARING FIREARMS AT POLITICAL PROTESTS ARE A PROBLEM.

>> IF YOU FIND YOURSELF TO BE A DEMOCRAT YOU ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO NOT SUPPORT FIREARMS, BE LIKELY TO BRING FIREARMS TO PROTEST AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

JUST LOOKING AT IT VISUALLY, IT'S DRAMATIC, PEOPLE STRONGLY LIKE THIS, IF THEY ARE REPUBLICANS, THEY STRONGLY DISLIKE IT IF THEY'RE DEMOCRATS.

IT'S STAGGERING TO LOOK AT.

>> ALEXANDRA FILINDRA DO THESE POTENTIALLY POSE A THREAT TO THE STABILITY OF THE U.S.

POLITICAL SYSTEM?

>> IT IS A PROBLEM THAT WE SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE SERIOUSLY BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE THE SUPREME COURT AND A LOT OF STATES HAVE RECOGNIZED AS A RIGHT THE ABILITY FOR PEOPLE TO CARRY ARMS AND MANY STATES ACTUALLY HAVE ENABLED PEOPLE TO CARRY ARMS IN PUBLIC SPACES INCLUDING, PROTESTS.

THERE IS NO ESSENTIAL LIMITATIONS OF CARRYING FIREARMS IN A PROTEST SPACE.

SO WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE OUR POLITICAL RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE AND EXPRESS OPINION AS A GOVERNMENT ARE COLLIDING WITH OUR RIGHTS TO CARRY FIREARMS.

AND IN A CHARGED ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE DISAGREE IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT PEOPLE FEEL SAFE TO DISAGREE.

AND WHEN WE SEE FROM THE SURVEY, TOO, IS THAT AND FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS CONDUCTED THAT PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE IN PROTESTS IF THEY THINK THAT COUNTER PROTESTERS WILL BE ARMED.

SO, THERE'S AN ISSUE OF PULLING BACK AND NOT PARTICIPATING.

>> YOU FOUND THAT PEOPLE SAW THINGS DIFFERENTLY WHEN IT COMES TO TALKING ABOUT EVENT SHALL LIKE THE ATTEMPTED CAPITAL INSURRECTION OR DEMONSTRATIONS AFTER GEORGE FLOYD'S DEATH.

ARE PEOPLE SPEAKING TWO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES OF PROTEST VERSUS RIOT, FOR EXAMPLE?

>> IT REALLY IS, AND IT MAKES EFFORTS TO ENCOURAGE.

WE KNOW FROM POLITICAL SCIENCE THAT WE ARE RATIONALIZING PEOPLE AND WE FEEL THINGS FIRST AND MAKE SENSE OF IT LATER.

SO, IF YOU FIND YOURSELF TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT HAPPENED LAST SUMMER TO GEORGE FLOYD WAS UNTHINKABLE AND YOU WERE PART OF A PROTEST, IF SOMEONE STARTS TO SAY TO YOU, THAT THE RIOTS LAST SUMMER WERE TOUGH, YOU'RE ALREADY TURNED OFF.

WHEN THINKING ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, YOU GOT TO KEEP THESE THINGS IN MIND.

BECAUSE PEOPLE FEEL VERY STRONGLY HOW EVENTS ARE DESCRIBED, LET ALONE WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

AND IT CAN MAKE COMMUNICATION DIFFERENT.

>>> ALEXANDRA FILINDRA PEOPLE TEND TO SAY THAT REJECT POLITICAL VIOLENCE, BUT YOU SAY THAT FALTERS WHEN YOU GET INTO POLITICAL QUESTIONS.

>> THAT'S CORRECT.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE SAYING THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS THAT ARE MEANT TO PROTECT THEIR GROUP'S RIGHTS, WHATEVER THEY UNDERSTAND AS THEIR GROUP OR WHEN THEY SAY IT'S APPROPRIATE TO USE ARMED VIOLENCE IN SUPPORT OF PEOPLE'S RIGHTS, AND ALSO A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT, IN IT SELF, IS A THREAT TO OUR RIGHTS IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE NEED GUNS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM GOVERNMENT.

SO WE'RE CREATING A VERY OPPOSITIONAL RELATIONSHIP AND INCREDIBLE LEVELS OF MISTRUST TOWARDS OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS.

THE PEOPLE THAT WE, BY CHOICE, PUT IN A PLACE TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR US.

AND THAT IS A VERY DANGEROUS POSITION TO BE IN WHEN SUBSTANTIAL MINORITIES, BUT SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IN SOCIETY VIEW OUR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION AS A PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES VIOLENCE TO BE CONTAINED.

>>> OKAY.

WE'LL HAVE TO LEAVE IT THERE, INTERESTING RESEARCH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, TO YOU BOTH.

>> THE AMERICAN LEGION WAS CHARTERED IN 1919 AS A VETERANS ORGANIZATION SERVING THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR I OVER THE YEARS THE ORGANIZATION EXPANDED TO DELLA ALL WHO SERVED IN THE U.S. ARMED FORCES.

BUT EVEN AS THE AMERICAN MILITARY HAS BECOME MORE RACIALLY DIVERSE, THE MAKEUP OF MOST AMERICAN LEGION POSTS GIVEN IT FOR OLD ARE MOSTLY WHITE VETERANS.

NOW A CHICAGO MAN DECIDED IT'S TIME TO HANG THAT BY MAKING A NEW PLACE FOR LATINO VETERANS TO FIND COMMUNITY.

"CHICAGO TONIGHT"'S ERICA GUNDERSON HAS THE STORY.

>> WHEN I JOINED THE UNITED STATES ARMY IN 2007, WHEN I ARRIVED FOR BASIC IN OKLAHOMA WE WE ARRIVED IN OKLAHOMA CITY, YOU HAD LEGION AIRS THERE.

YOU ARE IN THE AMERICAN LEGION NOW, YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.

>> THE CENTURY OLD VETERANS ASSOCIATION, THE AMERICAN LEGION COUNTIES ALL WHO SERVED ACTIVE DUTY IN ANY BRANCH.

AMERICAN ARMED FORCES AS MEMBERS.

BUT EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE MEMBERS, FOR YOUNG VETERANS LIKE MARCOS TORRES AND DANIEL, IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE A PLACE FOR VETERANS LIKE THEM.

>> I KNEW IT WAS A SOCIAL CLUB FOR SPECIFIC OLDER GENERATION OF VET ADVANCE.

>> ONCE HIS TIME AND SERVICE WAS DONE, TORRES FORGOT ALL THE AMERICAN LEGION.

AFTER HOSTING HIS OWN VETERANS DAY EVENTS FOR A FEW YEARS, TORRES VISIT IT HAD AMERICAN LEGION POST, 973 AND INSPIRATION STRUCK.

>> I FELL IN LOVE, EVERYBODY WAS AMAZING.

SO, I STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS, LIKE, HEY, WHERE DO I FIND MY LATINO BROTHERS?

WHERE DO I FIND MY AFRICAN-AMERICAN BROTHERS, WHERE ARE THEY AND WHY DON'T THEY HAVE A POST.

SO, I DECIDED WE NEEDED TO START AN AMERICAN LEGION THAT REPRESENTS THOSE SOLDIERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES SO THAT WAY WE MAKE SURE THEY'RE GETTING TAKEN AIR CARE OF AND BEING SPOKEN FOR.

>> A RARE NEW AMERICAN LEGION POST CHART TERREED.

IN 2019, SERGEANT JASON VAZQUEZ POST 939 CAME OFFICIAL.

>> I THINK THAT WHAT POST 939 IS DOING IS REMARKABLE.

MARCOS IS BRINGING TOGETHER A PART OF THE VETERAN COMMUNITY THAT HAS FELT DISCONNECTED.

I'M HERE TO SUPPORT THAT 100%.

WANTING TO BRING TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS THAT WANT TO DO GOOD FOR OUR NEIGHBORS.

>> TORRES AND HIS TEAM ARE BUILDING A POST WITH IS DISTINCTLY AND INTENTIONALLY LATINO.

TORRES LED THE HONOR GUARD THAT LAID JASON VAZQUEZ TO REST.

>> SO, JASON VAZQUEZ, ALSO KNOWN AS, WE KNEW HIM AS J ROCK, THERE LOGAN SQUARE, WE SHARED A TON OF SIMILARITIES, AND SO, I KNEW THAT EASILY HIS STORY COULD BE MINE.

>> WHAT A WONDERFUL THING THAT JASON WOULD HAVE A NAME OR BE PART OF A LEGION THAT WOULD BE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IT WOULD BE LIKE, HEY, WE'RE LATINOS TOO, WE WEAR UNIFORMS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CAREER, AND SOMEWHERE TO CELEBRATE AND COME TOGETHER.

WE'RE GRATEFUL AND HONORED.

IT MEANS A LOT.

>>> EVEN THE POST'S NUMBER IS LATINO.

>> 939 IS ONE OF THE WHY ARE CODES FOR PUERTO RICO.

AND IT'S JUST KIND OF OUR WATER MARK TO THAT WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER WE LEAVE.

>> POST 939 HAS A DISTINCT MISSION, TOO, SUPPORTS LATINO VETERANS MENTAL HEALTH BY OFFERING COMMUNITY.

>> WHEN I WAS IN THE JOB I DID, IF YOU ASKED FOR ANY SORT OF MENTAL HEALTH HELP YOU WERE ESSENTIALLY INEFFECTIVE, YOU WEREN'T DOING YOUR JOB OR HELPING YOUR BUDDIES OUT.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING, THAT KIND OF, I THINK GOING ALONG WITH THE CULTURE OF VETERANS, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD CHANGE.

>> WITH REGARDS TO THE VETERAN COMMUNITY, WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE AT HIGHER RISKS FOR SUICIDE, HOMELESSNESS, UNEMPLOYMENT, AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT.

IT'S OUR JOB TO ATTACK THESE ISSUES ONE BY ONE FOR ALL VETERANS, BUT PARTICULARLY WE WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE LOYALTY POPULATION AS WELL.

>> AS A LATINO VETS RAN, OUR NEEDS ARE DIFFERENT.

OUR ENVIRONMENT IS DIFFERENT.

OUR MUSIC IS DIFFERENT OUR FOOD IS DIFFERENT.

WE'RE ALWAYS KNOWN AS THE CULTURE THAT ALWAYS WANTS TO DANCE AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.

BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, WE WANT TO SHARE THE EXPERIENCES WE HAD AS VETERANS, SHARE OUR HISTORY, THE PUERTO RICANS THAT SERVE IN VIETNAM.

IF YOU DO GO TO A POST, YOU'LL SEE PICTURES OF ROY A MODEL RECIPIENT, YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT TALKS ABOUT THE 10,000 MEXICAN AMERICANS THAT FOUGHT IF THE UNION ARMY BECAUSE WHEN WE COME BACK FROM OUR SERVICE IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP SEEING THOSE THINGS SO WE CAN THRIVE.

>> THE LEADERS OF JASON VAZQUEZ POST 939 ARE CAUGHTING LOCATIONS FOR A HOME BASE IN LOGAN SQUARE OR HUMBOLDT PARK.

BUT UNTIL THEY FIND THAT PLACE THEIR MEETING HERE AT THE TATTLER POST.

>> IT'S A WELCOMING SPACE WHERE THEY COULD COME, LAUGH, JOKE, AND FEEL COMRADERY.

>> POST 939 IS ON THE MARCH AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS MISSION WITH US AS WELL.

>> FOR "CHICAGO TONIGHT," THIS IS ERICA GUNDERSON.

>> JASON VAZQUEZ POST 939 MEANS THURSDAY AS ERICA SAID, FIND DETAILS ON OUR WEBSITE.

>>> UP NEXT, WE'RE VISITING WRITER JAMES BALDWIN'S WORD IN AN EARLIER PROGRAM THAT AIRED EARLIER THIS WEEK "CHICAGO TONIGHT," BLACK VOICES.

>>> FOR MANY PEOPLE THE EVENTS OF THE LAST FOUR YEARS HAVE FELT LIKE THE RESULT OF A FAILURE BY THE U.S. TO ACT UPON THE LESSONS OF IT'S PAST.

DURING THE CIVIL WRITES ERA, WRITER JAMES BALLED WYNNE'S AMERICA AND IT'S URGENT LESSONS FOR OUR OWN.

REVISITS HIS WORDS.

JOINING US NOW, IS THE AUTHOR DR. EDDY JR.

IT'S ALSO A PRINCETON PROFESSOR AND CONTRIBUTOR FOR MSNBC.

>> WHEN THIS BOOK WAS RELEASED IT WAS LAST SUMMER, JUNE, 2020 WE WERE THE NATION WAS IN THE THROWS OF A RACIAL UPRISING, AND NOW WE'RE A MONTH INTO THE NEW PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AND SIX MONTHS REMOVED FROM THE INSURRECTION ON JANUARY 6TH.

IS THE COUNTRY, ARE WE BEGINNING AGAIN AS YOU AND JAMES BALDWIN SAYS?

>> I'M NOT SURE, I'M NOT SURE AT ALL, IN SOME WAYS WE HAVE TO READ WAPITIS ON JANUARY 6TH OF THE RACIAL RECKONING, IT'S ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH WHITENESS CONTINUES TO ANIMATE THE DISTRIBUTION OF ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES IN THIS COUNTRY.

JANUARY 6TH WAS REALLY ABOUT A MOSTLY WHITE MOB ATTACKING THE CAPITAL IN THE WAY OF WHITE GRIEVANCE AND WHITES RESENTMENTS AND HATE RED.

THE FANTASY OF TRUMPISM FOR THE FANTASY OF THE BIDEN HARRIS ADMINISTRATION AFFIRMING AMERICA'S GOODNESS AND PUTTING THE PUBLIC BACK TO SLEEP WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.

>> WHY DO YOU THINK BALDWIN A HE IS WRITING HAS THIS HAD A RESURGENCE?

>> IN SO MANY WAYS HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

HE WAS KIND OF FORCING US TO THINK ABOUT THE PROBLEM FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES.

AND WE'RE IN THIS MOMENT WHERE IT SEEMS AS IF WHAT HE SPIED ON THE HORIZON IN THOSE EARLY DAYS HAVE COME TO FRUITION AND FOLKS ARE REACHING FOR AND BECAUSE I THINK HE OFFERS THE MOST INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY ON THE CONTRADICTION AT THE HEART OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, RIGHT?

>> NOW, HERE AT WTTW WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF OUR OWN ARCHIVE, HERE IS A CLIP FROM AN INTERVIEW THAT HE DID BACK IN 1985.

>> SPEAKING AS A WRITER AGAIN, SOMETIMES, YOU'RE WRITING A PAGE OR A SENTENCE, AND YOU HAVE TO CHANGE A WORD IN THE SENTENCE, AND WHEN YOU CHANGE THAT WORD YOU MOVE THAT WORD OUT OF OR IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE CHANGING THE ENTIRE PAGE.

YOU CHANGE THE ENTIRE PAGE.

NOW, ONE COULD CONSIDER WHAT WE AS AMERICANS ARE GOING THROUGH AS WE APPROACH THE END OF THE 20th CENTURY, IT MIGHT BE USEFUL TO CHANGE A SINGLE WORD.

WE TALK ABOUT THE BLACK PROBLEM, IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PAGE IF ONE DECIDED TO DISCUSS THE WHITE PROBLEM.

>>> NOW, DOCTOR, YOU ARGUE THAT THE COUNTRY IS FOUNDED ON A LIE AND THAT THAT LIE IS THAT THE BLACK MAN IS NOT A MAN, THUS THE COUNTRY FORGIVES ITSELF FOR THE TREATMENT THAT IT INFLICTED ON BLACK PEOPLE FOR SO MANY YEARS AND THAT WE FRAME THIS AS A BLACK PROBLEM VERSUS BEING A WHITE PROBLEM.

THEN, THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO YOU CONVINCE SOMEONE OF THE TRUTH WHEN AS YOU SAY, WHAT THEY'VE BEEN SEEING IS A LIE FOR SO LONG?

>> WELL, I MEAN IN SOME WAYS, THE FACT THAT THE COUNTRY'S BROKEN OCCASIONS A POSSIBILITY FOR US TO CONFRONT THE UGLINESS OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE'VE DONE.

AT THE HEART OF THE CORPUS IS THIS RADICAL INVERSION THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN.

SO, WHEN WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND, THAT IT HASN'T BEEN US, AS HE SAID, I'M NOT THE N WORD, THE WORLD IS WHY DID YOU NEED THE N-WORD ANYWAY.

THAT BURDEN SHIFTS THE ANALYSIS, IN A MOMENT OF CRISIS WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.

THAT DOESN'T GUARANTY THAT PEOPLE WILL LISTEN OR FIND THE MOVE COMPELLING, BUT IT ORIENTS THOSE OF US WHO ARE TRYING TO BUILD A NEW JERUSALEM DIFFERENTLY, IT WILL ORIENT US AS WE TRY TO BUILD SOLID AIRTIES.

>> AND, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK, YOU REFER TO HIM JAMES BALDWIN.

YOU CALL HIM JIMMY.

>> YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN WALKING WITH BALDWIN FOR 30 YEARS, IT'S AN INTIMATE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP FOR ME.

TEACHING ME HOW TO MANAGE MY RAGE, HOW TO CONFRONT MY OWN VULNERABILITIES, URGING ME AS I WAS TRYING TO WRITE THIS BOOK TO NOT IMITATE HIM BUT TO TRUST MY OWN VOICE.

TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WITNESS.

SO, I AFFECT IT'S AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF WHAT HE MEANS TO ME.

>> YOU'VE CAUTIONED AGAINST TEACHING BLACK HISTORY IN A MANNER THAT SANITIZES HISTORIC FIGURES LIKE MARTIN LUTHER KING, DO YOU THINK IT ALLOWS.

>> SURE, DR. KING'S BONES HAVE BEEN PICKED CLEAN AND OFTEN TIMES HE'S INVOKED IN OUR POLITICS AS A RATHER GUARD ACTION TO CONTAIN RADICAL IMAGINATION, TO ARREST DEMANDS FOR SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE.

THINK ABOUT HOW DR. KING'S VOICE IS USED IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR DEBATES AROUND POLICING AT THE MOMENT.

ABSOLUTELY.

THERE'S BEEN AN EFFORT TO NARROW THE RANGE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES LEGITIMATE FORMS OF BLACK POLITICS.

AND DR. KING IS OFTEN INVOKED AS THE PRINCIPAL REPRESENTATIVE OF LEGITIMATE FORMS.

WAYS IRONIC AND INSIDIOUS IS THAT IT'S A CHARACTER MUCH DR. KING'S LIFE, IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE PHRASE HIM IN 1963 AND WE MURDER HIM AGAIN EVERY HOLIDAY BY LOCKING HIM INTO 1963, YOU SEE, SO ABSOLUTELY.

>> IN THE FEW SECONDS WE'VE GOT LEFT, WHAT WOULD BALDWIN SAY ABOUT THE STATE OF RACIAL EQUALITY TODAY?

>> I WOULDN'T DARE TRY TO ANTICIPATE BROTHER JIMMY'S WORDS, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE IS WHERE WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN AND THAT IS THAT AMERICA NEEDS TO GROW UP, FINALLY, AND FACE IT'S GHOSTS.

>> OKAY.

OUR THANKS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

I APPRECIATE YOU.

>> AGAIN, THE BOOK IS CALLED "BEGIN AGAIN JAMES BALDWIN'S AMERICA AND THE URGENT MESSAGE FOR OUR OWN".

BACK WITH MORE "CHICAGO TONIGHT" RIGHT AFTER THIS.

>>> EFFORT TOSS MINIMIZE PLASTIC TOOK A HIT.

BUT THIS MONTH, THE SHEDD AQUARIUM IS PART OF A GLOBAL EFFORT TO HOPES TO CHANGE THAT.

JOINING US WITH MORE ABOUT THE PLASTIC FREE JULY CAMPAIGN.

PATTY, WELCOME BACK, HAPPY FOURTH.

>> SAME TO YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> WHAT IS THE REASON BEHIND THE PLASTIC FREE JULY CAMPAIGN AND WHAT'S THE EASIEST WAY TO PARTICIPATE?

>> YEAH, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE STRIDES THAT CITIES LIKE CHICAGO HAD BEEN MAKING WITH THINGS LIKE THE PLASTIC BAG TAX, YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC CAME ALONG AND BETWEEN THINGS LIKE PPE, PACKAGING, AND DISPOSABLE USE WARE, THE USE OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC JUMPED 250 TO 300 FIRST BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.

SO, PLASTIC FREE JULY IS A WAY TO GET THINGS BACK ON TRACK AND TO GET PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT REDUCING THEIR USE OF PLASTICS, WHICH BOILS DOWN A LOT TO REUSE.

THINK ABOUT PLASTIC BACKS, WATER BOTTLES, STRAWS, AND TRY AND FIND A REUSABLE ALTERNATIVE TO THOSE.

>> REAL QUICK OF BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, THE SHEDD AQUARIUM IS SUPPORTING THE CAMPAIGN, WHAT INITIATIVES IS THE AQUARIUM DOING?

>> THEY'VE ALSO BEEN A BIG ADVOCATE BECAUSE OF THE PLASTICS THAT WIND UP IN THE OCEAN AND THREATENING WILD LIFE AND THEY'RE BUILDING AN ACTIVIST COMMUNITY THROUGH THEIR SURGE PLATFORM WHICH YOU COULD FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ON THE SHED'S WEBSITE AND THEY WILL HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THINGS PEOPLE CAN DO TO ADVOCATE FOR A PLASTIC FREE SOCIETY AND KEEPING MORE PLASTICS OUT OF OUR WATERWAYS.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANKS, BRANDIS, HAPPY FOURTH.

>> SAME TO YOU.

>> AND YOU COULD FIND OUT MORE WITH PLASTIC FREE JULY ON OUR WEBSITE, news.wttw.com.

DON'T FORGET TO STAY CONNECTED BY SIGNING UP FOR OUR DAILY BRIEFING AND YOU COULD GET "CHICAGO TONIGHT" STREAMED ON FACEBOOK, YouTube ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON OUR PODCAST AND THE APP.

AND PLEASE JOIN US IT TOMORROW NIGHT LIVE AT 7:00.

FOR ALL OF US HERE AT "CHICAGO TONIGHT."

I'M BRANDIS FRIEDMAN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND, STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.

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