In addition to the leadership, the people I serve with are no joke
either. In my current role, my mentor
Keviyona Ray is beyond committed to the cause, my cohort 043, I couldn't be
prouder to be among such amazing individuals, and the teachers and admin at Johnson Elementary. My
time in OSI was time spent among some of the most devoted, loyal people I have ever met…Randel Josserand, Kelly
Weiss, Gavin Doughty, Alfonso Tapia, Ellen Kennedy, Leigh Anne Larsen. Al Raby HS, the single biggest blessing in my career so far - being able to work with people like Coach D, Jessica Johnson, Meyer Reynolds, Chinelle Burrage, Joemeika Davis, Kristen Yenior, Chloe Bentley, Brandon Draper and my work husband/brother - Jamal Little. …. And my start at CPS in Grants with my
manager, Heather Wendell and our grants “dream team” – Guido Volpe, Emilia
Badrov, Tabatha Koylass and Leonore Draper.
So to wake up this morning and
read the Tribune Police blotter, as I always do to check on my kids and their
neighborhoods, to come across a name I know, was a nightmare come true.
Leonore Draper aka “Lee” was
one of the funniest, kindest, most determined women I knew. She was one of the first people I met at
CPS. She was charged with showing me the
ropes in Grants Management. She let me
tag along for lunch when I knew no one, and introduced me to all the people I
needed to know to get work done as I took over the IDEA grants from her so she
could move on to other grant work. She
made the work place fun, and had this insane sense of humor that almost made
you laugh every time you looked at her.
From our Friday dances, to listening in to crazy co-workers on the other
side of the wall, it was good to be in the trenches with her. She was real.
She went so far beyond serving at
CPS as well. A girl scout leader, a
crusader for MS on behalf of her loving husband Jason, and a proponent and
supporter or Project Orange Tree the youth anti-violence group formed in
response to Hadiya Pendleton’s death. In
fact she was coming home from an event for this cause when she was shot and
killed. Lee. A real friend. A real person. Doing real work. She’s gone. Shot
in a drive by, in front of her damn house, coming home from an anti-violence
charity event. Yes. I am f*cking mad.
We are mandated to live in
Chicago if we want to work at CPS. Lee and her husband Jason had bought a home
in the west Pullman neighborhood just 3 years ago or so. She was so proud. Her house warming was an all out party. And now, she’s gone. Why?
Was it a mistaken identity, or a shot at someone behind her car that
ran, or did Lee have the balls to say something to one of the god damn punks in
her neighborhood that posted on a corner and now they were pissed? She was like that, you know. She stood up for stuff.
Lee’s death will not be in
vain. For me at least, it will push me
to reach deeper, every time I look into those blank, dark eyes of a child who
tells me he doesn’t care, and find something for him to live for besides the
streets. I will push parents hard, I
won’t accept, “I can’t do anything with him” as a response. I will RTI early and often. I will not forget that difference we can make with our words which may be the difference between pushing a kid TOWARDS the streets or pulling him in another direction. I will not be angry at the kids I know who
are in gangs, but preach what is real and what they can be- beyond the
streets. Someone gave up on the kid that shot Leonore Draper along the way.
I won’t be that person. Her death
will not be in vain. And to the city of Chicago, I hope to God, this become the catalyst you finally need to grow a set and recognize we cannot handle this problem alone anymore. We need help. Innocent people are dying every day. Kids are dying every day.
Taken too
soon. RIP Lee. #stoptheviolence #justiceforleonore
