This is the end of what will be the longest week for many, though this is really what our black communities have faced for years on-end. Across the country, there are uprisings happening in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Lorenzo Dean, Eric Reason, Pamela Turner and so many others. As former President Obama explained in his Medium post, the call-out is explicit for the “reform of police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States.” The rate at which black Americans are killed by police is more than twice as high as the rate for white Americans. I do not claim to know how painful it must be for our black communities after decades of our nation watching black people die.
And, so, at the end of this week, this country is not where it needs to be, but it’s clear that masses of people are demanding a solution. In this podcast, we are going to talk about the responsibility of the Latino community in this because it’s huge. We will also be discussing lootings, shootings, how they are affecting the Chicago's most vulnerable communities and importantly, how people are banding together, protecting their small businesses and homes.
I spoke with someone who’s been documenting on the ground and who has worked with small businesses in our Chicago Latino neighborhoods, to get his observations: Mateo Zapata. It’s important to remember that this is not happening in a vacuum, Chicago has historically been one of the most segregated cities in the country - this which was completely engineered by the city by enabling redlining, now-outlawed lending practices that kept minorities out of certain areas, and keeping investment out of black neighborhoods. The most hurt by this were Blacks and Latinos, specifically Mexicans. To date, the segregation is still evident. 
Note: This conversation has sensitive material.

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