Click to be taken to The Black Women's Expo site or call 312-243-3554 for tickets.
In Chicago, one of the most frustrating aspects of gun rights activism is the constant struggle to reach the average person for whom guns and self-defense have never seemed like important considerations compared to making a living, dodging parking tickets and avoiding the crustiest CTA stations--day-to-day concerns overwhelm loftier questions of human rights and political activism. Here at the semi-palatial offices of the Chicago Gun Rights Examiner, a quick survey reveals that most of the non-gun owners the staff have encountered over the years have had no idea what Chicago, Cook County, Illinois or U.S. gun laws are really like. Concealed carry laws are prime examples; the average Illinoisan of voting age seems to believe in one of two extremes: either that "only criminals carry guns" in America, or that if someone in Illinois really needs to be able to carry a weapon, she can get a permit if she's willing to go through a lot of red tape. If you are reading this article, then chances are you know how far wrong those two ideas are, but for most people, there has never been any reason to think much about it one way or the other. And although people like L.A. GRE John Longenecker are right to insist on preaching outside the choir rather than addressing the same activists with the same talking points over and over, actually getting the words and ideas in front of people who've never cared about gun rights one way or another is the real challenge.
One way Illinois gun rights activists are trying to bridge this divide between the activist and the average citizen is to go beyond gun shows and shooting matches to find venues and events where their message is most needed. The places they've found success may surprise some. This weekend, volunteers from four Illinois gun-rights groups will be bringing their messages to McCormick Center in Chicago for the Black Women's Expo. A three-day event from Thursday to Saturday, the Expo is part celebration, part conference, with live music, award banquets, seminars, and contests all designed to celebrate and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of black women from all over the country. At first glance, many Chicagoans might find this an odd place to look for support for gun rights--after all, there won't be many white hunters from downstate in overalls at the McCormick Center this weekend. But there are going to be entrepreneurs, thinkers and leaders in great numbers, says Valinda Rowe, Spokeswoman for Illinois Carry: ""I just wish I could be up there. This is the second year we've exhibited at the Black Women's Expo, and it's so exciting to get our message to so many people who might otherwise not have a chance to hear the truth about self-defense and the right to keep and bear arms."
Who will be there?
Regular readers should recall one of The Chicago Gun Rights Examiner's recurring themes: anti-gun groups have a lot of money from very few sources, mostly the Joyce Foundation, while pro-gun groups tend to have a large number of members who volunteer their time and money. Participating in the Black Women's Expo plays to that relative strength.
The ISRA (Illinois State Rifle Association) will have its own booth this year, staffed by volunteers who will tell attendees how they can get involved politically or join the ISRA, but also where they can find safety training, self-defense training, and fun competition even if they've never touched a gun before.
Illinois Carry will share a booth with the Second Amendment Sisters and CORE Chicago (Congress of Racial Equality.) All three will highlight the racist origins of many gun control laws and the crucial importance a strong right to self-defense has always held for both women and racial minorities. The common media message is that "good" guns are used by hunters, "bad" guns are used by criminals, and if you're not a hunter, you have no use for a gun of your own. In Chicago, that philosophy extends even to weapons like pepper spray and Mace or tear gas--even those are too deadly for an average citizen to be trusted to keep them on hand in case of attack. But these volunteers argue that the opposite is true: if you're a woman living in a high-crime area like Chicago, they say, you have more reason than most to think hard about self-defense and what tools and skills will help keep you and yours safe. Both booths will have plenty of Illinois FOID card applications on hand and will be offering answers to any and all questions.
Volunteers realize not everyone at the Expo will welcome them with open arms, but they say the chance to show thousands of people that self-defense is not the racial or sexual issue that has been portrayed for years, but instead a human issue, is worth their time and effort. And by targeting the Black Women's Expo, they believe, they're focusing on independent thinkers who relish taking personal responsibility in their lives--just the sort of folks they're seeking. Rowe says her people are buoyed by thoughts of their first time at the Black Women's Expo, last summer: "The response was a lot bigger than we expected. It was just great!"
If you're going to be at the Black Women's Expo, then, stop by the booth and say hi. You might even get to meet Sean Horton, the Militant Marksman, at the Illinois Carry/CORE/Second Amendment Sisters booth! And if you'd like to know more about Sean and his Militant Marksman podcast, watch this space for an upcoming feature on both.
Comments
You are so correct on these point.
Discussing with people who have always lived in Illinois the idea of conceal and carry is crazy. They almost never believe that 48 states have some type of concealed carry! Who would do such a thing!!
It is good to see groups getting out into "normal" non-gun gatherings. I think it also should be remember that the earliest forms of gun control in this country were targeted at blacks. And that when chicago first institued it's gun ban it was the black aldermen and pastors that were screaming about disarming the law abiding population and leaving them unarmed in the face of rising violence...
Funny how tossing money at the right people will shut them up.
You can't shut up every black person in the country, but if you can create a perception that only a few black people are legitimate spokesmen for the rest, because they're the "leaders," then whatever it takes to make them be quiet is all it takes to quell all dissent effectively.
That's why it's so important to go over, under, around and through those leaders directly to the people. We do that because we don't have the means or the stomach to deal with Jesse Jackson even if we wanted to do it.
i've posted your url at the "women & guns" forum, hopefully it will help bring some visitors both here and at the expo.
Good deal I hope gun rights does well there.
Thanks, Gunner, that would be excellent!
Hi, Don, thanks for the mention. Safer streets to you and yours!
Ron-Plainfield, it wasn't just the black aldermen and preachers, a lot of the European ethnic Caucasians went to their aldermen and demanded that gun control be promulgated, because they thought that would allow the police to bust the skulls of the rioting blacks - if the blacks had no guns, then they could be controlled. So the (warped) thinking went. Remember, these people emigrated from strict gun-control European countries where the populace had more faith in the police, than a saint has in Christ.
Luis, if you read Ron's comment again I think you'll see he agrees with you. What he's saying is that black aldermen protested Chicago's gun ban on the grounds that their constituents would be the most deprived (How does that old joke about the New York Times headline go? "Handguns Banned in Chicago: Women and Minorities Hardest Hit.")
You're both right, by the way. How's that work out for you?
Don, maybe I misinterpreted Ron-Plainfield's post- however, it seems to me that black preachers are at the forefront of "gun buyback schemes". Look at the number of such schemes held in black churches, not just in Chicago, but NY, Buffalo, L.A., Philadelphia, etc. The shepherds have de-horned their sheep, allowing their temples to be turned into trading posts, with Caesar's guards. A gun for a pair of sneakers, or a $ 50 gift card. The sad thing is, these people have been brainwashed into thinking that GUNS are the problem, not the shooters.
It's like blaming the ovens and the showers for the slaughter in the Nazi death camps - NOT the men who pulled the levers or turned on the switches. See how ludicrous that thinking is?
Luis, we agree on the utility of gun "buybacks." Look for a few pieces on the upcoming "Gun Turn-In" in Chicago this month (they aren't calling it a buyback anymore.)
And yes, black churches in Chicago are political creatures. They have a lot of influence in some ways, but they purchase that influence by selling the party line--and that includes blaming legal gun owners for Chicago crime.
However, there are black aldermen and county officials out there who don't see the logic in disarming the lawful population of Chicago to protect them from the armed unlawful population of Chicago. William Beavers comes to mind. I've read that many black politicians and leaders were publicly angry over the passage of Chicago's handgun ban in the early 1980s. That was before my time, and so far I only have secondary sources to go on, but it's clear that there's no monolith of black thought on gun control as some black "leaders" would like people to think.
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