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G HERBO buys his old school as a symbol of community development

G Herbo is trying to be a major voice for the necessary change in his community. He recently purchased Anthony Overton Elementary, which has been closed down since 2013, with the intention of reopening the area as a safe haven for the neighborhood youth. Herbert Randall Wright III, commonly known as G Herbo, acknowledges the dangers of his old stomping grounds when kids are left without options. The community center is primed as a future multimedia facility for emerging artists, and for kids to have a place of genuine fun. “We’re not saying that there will be drastic change tomorrow,” says Wright, during the Year of the Youth Peace Walk on Sept. 19. “But, if we keep this up its limitless opportunities in life and unlimited places we could go. It’s about the youth, all the kids out here today.”

G Herbo is just one of many artists from Chicago who have voiced their displeasure at the lack of unity in their city. From Jan. 1 through the end of July, there were 440 homicides in Chicago and 2,240 people shot, including many of those who were killed, according to statistics released by the Chicago Police Department. For a community to truly blossom, it takes grounded individuals like Herb to actually desire change and fight for it. Incentivizing youth to stay away from inner-city trouble with community centers will become a strong driving force against crime in the larger Chicago area.

On Sept 19, 2020, G Herbo, Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, and Joey Purp teamed up with Social Works to lead the Year of the Youth Peace Walk and Back to School Drive. The drive provided families and kids with back to school necessities, shoes, electronics, and non-perishable household goods. The central focus of the peace walk was to make a unified statement on the power and capability of a unified community. The community organized and led a march with a focus on educational, community outreach, and youth organizational funding from the city. “[Chicago] is where artists with platforms like myself, like Vic, Joey, Chance can make an example for the next generation to come, and for other artists to use their platforms to fix things that need fixing little by little.

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