A group of students from Chicago’s North Lawndale College
Preparatory High were in the middle of a weeklong summer
training to become Peace Warriors—peer nonviolence leaders.
Suddenly, a sophomore named Alicia got a text message alerting
her that one of her close friends was just involved in a
shooting and was in critical condition at the hospital. A
conversation about the violence in Chicago followed. At one
point in the discussion, Tiffany Childress, science teacher and
civic engagement director at the school, told the students:
“This level of violence is not normal. I’ve seen wealthy
neighborhoods in Chicago where young people getting shot is not
part of the daily reality. Even in this neighborhood, 50 years
ago we did not have this level of violence.” The reactions came
quickly. “How do you know that? You weren’t around 50 years
ago!” The students were surprised, confused, resistant. The
violence in their communities has become so normalized that they
literally could not believe that this does not happen