Laquan McDonald was 17 years young when he was executed by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. The fatal details surrounding his murder have put Chicago front and center for questions around police conduct, competence, and corruption among the city's officials. Young Black organizers across the city are demanding a complete restructuring of how Chicago is governed and funded. 
…I realized I was not following my own advice in sharing my authentic voice with my students. How could I open the year without talking about my mission as an educator to bring love back into schooling? So the next morning I stood before parents and a classroom of third graders talking about love. 
Mike Brown’s life had become an equation; a sum of his respectable parts minus any mainstream missteps to determine his right to equality. Four and a half hours left in the street gave view to an enduring truth in America… 