So much has occurred in the past week that it’s almost difficult to know where to begin.
For Chicagoans, there was the story of Herbert Pulgar, the 15 year old boy who was accused of being a gang member due to the images on his winning design for the city’s vehicle stickers. For adults over the age of 25, there was the unfortunate death of singing icon, Whitney Houston. For teeny boppers and the mentally ill, there was the Grammy performance of Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj. For those with a sense of hope, there was Donna’s Good Things.
Before I begin, it’s only fair to admit that this will be, in part, a rant…so please bear with me as much as possible.
Herbert Pulgar: The Sobbing “Gangsta” ??
For those of you who don’t live inChicago, please allow me a moment to bring you up to date on the story of Hebert Pulgar.
Herbert Pulgar, is a 15 year old Latino boy who entered the annual city-wide contest to design Chicago’s vehicle stickers. His design, which initially won the contest, showed a heart shaped city flag, emblems representing the city’s emergency response organizations, and four hands making gestures that many public officials deemed to be associated with gangs. In the end, after a highly publicized fiasco for the city, it was eventually decided that Pulgar’s design would not be used.
End of the story, right?
Not so fast.
For me, this story shines a bright light on the epic level of SCREWED-TIVITY that the city presents to young boys of color. The day that the story broke, I looked at an interview of this kid crying. He could barely talk; he had snot coming out his nose, ears, and mouth. As a mother, I felt the squeeze in my heart and I wanted to find him and give him a hug. As I writer, I wanted to jump on my laptop and write a scathing letter to every official who dealt with the matter, informing them that it takes a cold son of a (bleep) to disappoint a child with a dream to protect one’s political ass(ets).
But then I looked at the sticker more clearly, and there were compromising images of the young boy leaked to the media from Facebook and I thought, well, not so fast…
There were no good options in a story such as this, as on the surface it looks bad for everyone. Yet, what I wonder now, one week after this story initially broke is:
What does it say of our city that this boy's two choices are to either be a gang banger or fake like he is a gang banger?
If Hebert Pulgar is a gang member, then trust that his career in thugging and crime will be short- lived due to this experience. However, if he is what I suspect he is – a youth who misguidedly sought to reconcile various notions of things that he admires (or things that are familiar to him) in the depiction that we saw in the illustration, then it speaks volumes to how we, as a city have dropped the ball in presenting alternative pathways to success for boys of color.
I wonder if, for Pulgar, the “gang-like” symbols are as much a part of the city in his mind as our more “notable” service agencies such as the police or the fire department?
For many in neighborhoods of color, the notion “to protect and serve” is manifested not through the presence of police but through the presence of one gang who acts as both protector and enforcer. In Pulgar’s mind, I wonder if this was the inspiration that he drew from to create the picture that we all saw.
A week after the incident became public, it is this question that continues to bother me because it speaks to a problem that has no obvious solution.
In the weeks and months that follow, I am sure that Herbert Pulgar’s name will surely fade from the newspapers but I hope that the lesson isn’t lost on our public officials. Our communities are bursting at the seams with children with talent beyond our own imaginations, but how long will we let the trajectory of their success be confined to the physical and psychological boundaries of their communities?
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tags: Chicago city sticker debacle, Herbert Pulgar, inner city issues, Minority males
Julie
1 week, 3 days ago