This section features interviews with Angela O’Neal, James “Tygar” Corbin, and Charles Davidson.
O’Neal, Corbin, and Davidson are CU residents and members of local community organization First Followers who shared with us some of their personal and professional expertise on the subject of gun violence in Champaign-Urbana.
featured quotes:
Q: “What does your neighborhood look like today?”
A: “Neighborhood looks a lot better than it used to look, you know. But we still got a long way to go. You know, ‘course you got all the homicides going on now, got people scared to even come out, got teenagers even scared to come out: they don’t even want to go nowhere. And then, you got the ones that do come out, everybody’s got a gun. They’re not the ones out shooting the people — killing people. They got guns because they’re trying to protect themselves. You know, nobody wants to die, right?”
Q: “How do you think the youth are impacted by gun violence?”
A: “So, you find a corner and say, ‘Nah, I just want to talk about, you know, how you feel about the gun violence or whatever.’ They’re talking to me, but they’re starting to look around, ya know — they’re scared, you know. They’re ready to run at any given sound or anything. Every last one of them that I talk to — women, girls, men — they do the same thing. [Shakes head.] You know, it’s just got everybody scared. And that’s the biggest thing, that’s — that’s not the end thing; they’re scared. Some of them, they don’t do what they used to do. They don’t go out to the park and play basketball or whatever or join different events and stuff like that — they just don’t do it no more.”
Q: “What kind of care efforts are there in the community?”
A: “That’s where we came up with the GoMAD program, going into the community, building with the people most affected with gun violence and all that. Showing them that there’s a better way. You know, teaching trades and things like that. And that’s — that’s what’s really needed ‘cause they got to be reeducated. They was — they was feeling like how I was out in the streets, you know, stealing or whatever, you know, you gotta eat, you know, make fast money. Most of them, you know, will make fast money selling drugs, stuff like that. They need to be reeducated. [Shakes head affirmatively.] There’s a better way.”
Q: “What kind of relationship do you think exists between the University and the CU community?”
A: “The U of I hires a lot of people now, you know. It’s kind of hard to get that — you know, you really got to have been a straight and narrow person, you know, never been arrested and something like that. You can — you can get there quick. Other than that, you’re going to need some…some type of, say, a family member or a friend to bring you in there.”
Q: “What does a world without gun violence look like to you?”
A: “Heavy. That’s what it would look like. Heavy. Oh, man, that’d be great!”