Chicago is suffering from the radical collective action of black youths.
According to local media on the 22nd, another incident occurred on the 20th at 9:30 pm at a gas station in Bronzeville, south of Chicago, where about 100 black teenagers broke into a gas station, damaged vehicles, and facilities, and turned the convenience store inside the gas station into a mess.
With the slogan of ‘Black Teens Takeover’ (black teenagers seizing the initiative), they are planning and executing large-scale gatherings on social media (SNS), and this time the Bronzeville gas station was the target.
Witnesses said, “Hundreds of black youths gathered on the shore of Lake Michigan and then crossed the boulevard (Lakeshore Drive) and moved near a gas station.”
Chicago police authorities said that an 18-year-old woman was hit by a car in the process, and that “dozens of police officers were dispatched to the scene to disperse them.” “Five (male) members of the group were charged with ‘reckless conduct’, one (female) was charged with possession of illegal alcohol by a minor, and two (2) were detained for violating a juvenile curfew,” it said.
Although most black residents in the south side of Chicago are stained with gun violence stemming from power struggles between criminal gangs, it is a recent remarkable change that ordinary teenagers gather in large numbers and commit violent collective actions.
In April, up to 1,000 black teenagers swarmed downtown Chicago, rioted, and assaulted a white woman in her 20s in front of a building for no reason.
Also, last month, 400 teenagers fought in a gang fight at the festival site in Tinley Park, a southern suburb of Chicago, and the event ended earlier than planned.
Black youths are continuing collective action events by shouting “Black Power” and “Black Teens Takeover” in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement and nationwide racial justice protests and violence that occurred in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a resident living near the scene of the incident said, “Once upon a time, we were proud of ourselves. But now we are doing provocative dances in the middle of the road, jumping on other people’s cars and destroying them, swearing at anyone on the street and doing all sorts of barbaric and ridiculous things.” I see teenagers doing everything. It’s embarrassing,” he said.
“Residents are still in shock and lamenting ‘how this could have happened,'” local broadcaster WGN reported.
“The City of Chicago and neighbouring city authorities are struggling to find ways to mitigate and contain similar incidents that suddenly occur,” added Chicago ABC.